Dollar Tree sees profit boost from Ollie's stake sale

The Dollar Tree logo is seen outside a store in Arvada, Colorado February 25, 2009.

(Reuters) - Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O) said in a filing that it sold off its ownership interest in discount retailer Ollie's Holdings and that sale will boost its third-quarter profitability by 16 cents to 17 cents a share.

The retailer had said earlier it expected earnings of 47 cents to 51 cents a share on sales of $1.71 billion to $1.75 billion in its third quarter, which began on July 29.

Analysts, on average, were expecting the company to earn $0.51 cents a share, as per Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Dollar Tree, which sells items for $1 or less at its namesake chain, bought an ownership interest in mid-Atlantic based Ollie's Holdings in 2003.

Shares of Dollar Tree closed at $48.29 Friday on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago)