Ollie's Bargain Outlet (NASDAQ:OLLI) traded higher, up 2.8% at $77.00, thanks to solid quarterly results that included a 7.9% increase in comparable sales.
The cut-price retailer, meanwhile, upgraded its guidance for the full year setting expectations for $2.08 to $2.09 billion of revenue, to push earnings of $2.65 to $2.74 per share.
Both are higher than Wall Street had pencilled in, as prior consensus stood at $2.06 billion and $2.62 per share.
It comes as the retail sector generally feels the pinch amidst higher living costs, and, as certain consumer segments ‘trade down’ seeking more value.
For Ollie’s, meanwhile, the company sees opportunity – not least in its procurement through ‘close-out’ buying (which sees discounters acquire unsold end-of-season and end-of-line stock from big brands and retail.
“We feel very good about the current trends and momentum of our business,” chief executive John Swygert said in a statement.
“With over 40 years of closeout buying experience and growing relationships across the industry, we are seeing very strong deal flow, and our customers are clearly responding.
“In the second quarter, comparable store sales increased 7.9%, with nearly 70% of our product categories contributing to the increase.”
Second-quarter sales were reported 13.7% higher at $514.5 million, beating analyst forecasts of $498.65 million. Earnings for the quarter amounted to 67 cents per share, also beating expectations of 61 cents.