Ross same-store February sales rise 4 percent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Ross Stores Inc (ROST.O) said on Thursday that sales at stores open at least a year rose 4 percent in February, helped by competitive discounts and favorable weather in the mid-Atlantic region.

Analysts, on average, had been expecting the off-price retailer to post a same-store sales rise of 1.1 percent, according to Reuters Estimates.

Total sales rose 12 percent during the four weeks ended March 1 to $444 million, said the company, which buys excess merchandise in bulk from manufacturers at below-wholesale prices.

"We are pleased with the strong, better-than-expected sales gains we achieved in February," said Chief Executive Michael Balmuth. "We believe the month benefited from our ability to deliver competitive bargains, driving broad-based geographic and merchandise trends."

Ross stood by its forecast for a same-store sales decline of 4 percent to 5 percent in March, and a same-store sales increase of 7 percent to 8 percent in April.

The company said the shift in the date of Easter -- to March this year from April in 2007 -- will mean one less selling day in March. It also said an earlier Easter typically means more weather risk.

In February, the strongest merchandise category was dresses, while the shoes, men's and home departments also performed well, Ross said.

At the end of February, average in-store inventories were down 10 percent from a year earlier.

(Reporting by Jennifer Coogan; Additional reporting by Karey Wutkowski in Washington; editing by John Wallace)