CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Dollar Tree Inc. reported that its consolidated net sales totaled $6.77 billion in the second quarter ended July 30, up 6.7% versus the prior year period. Comparable store sales were up 7.5% in the Dollar Tree chain, 2% in Family Dollar, and 4.9% for the company as a whole.

“Our second quarter performance reinforces the relevance of our brands for millions of households pressured by higher costs for food, fuel, rent and more,” Dollar Tree president and CEO Mike Witynski said. “We delivered increases of 6.7% in sales, 14.2% in gross profit, 25.7% in operating profit and 30.1% in EPS in the face of great macroeconomic uncertainty. We remain keenly focused on our associates, our DC network and supply chain, our value proposition and our technology. We are improving the shopper experience and positioning the company to deliver long-term profitable growth and attractive returns on capital.”

Consolidated net sales increased 6.7% to $6.77 billion from $6.34 billion in the prior year’s second quarter. Enterprise same-store sales increased 4.9% on a constant currency basis (or 4.8% when adjusted to include the impact of Canadian currency fluctuations). Comparable store net sales for Dollar Tree increased 7.5% (or 7.4% when adjusted for currency fluctuations). Family Dollar same-store sales increased 2.0%.

Gross profit increased 14.2% to $2.12 billion from $1.86 billion in the prior year’s second quarter. Gross margin improved 200 basis points to 31.4%, compared to 29.4% in the prior year’s quarter. This improvement was driven by improved initial mark-on and leverage on distribution and occupancy costs, partially offset by higher freight costs, unfavorable product mix related to a material shift toward lower-margin consumable products, markdowns, and shrink.

Selling, general and administrative expenses were 24.0% of total revenue, compared to 23.0% of total revenue in the prior year’s second quarter. The increase was primarily due to higher costs related to repairs and maintenance, store payroll, stock compensation expense, general liability insurance, utilities and other inflationary pressures.

Operating income increased 25.7% to $505.4 million compared with $402.2 million in the same period last year and operating income margin improved 120 basis points to 7.5%.

Net income increased 27.4% to $359.9 million and diluted earnings per share for the quarter increased 30.1% to a second quarter company record of $1.60, compared to $1.23 in the prior year’s quarter.

The company repurchased 1,664,717 shares, at an average price of $141.67, for $235.8 million. As of July 30, the company had $2.25 billion remaining on its share repurchase authorization.

During the quarter, the company opened 127 new stores, expanded or relocated 29 stores, and closed 57 stores. Dollar Tree also expanded its multi-price Plus offering into an additional 697 Dollar Tree stores and completed 257 Family Dollar store renovations. Retail selling square footage at quarter-end increased 3.1% from the prior year’s quarter to approximately 130.7 million square feet.