MATTHEWS, N.C. – Discount retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc. on Wednesday predicted fiscal third-quarter results above Wall Street expectations, helped by same-store sales growth.

For the period ended May 30, the company projects income between 54 cents per share and 58 cents per share, up from 46 cents per share reported in the same quarter last year.

Sales are expected to rise between 7 percent and 9 percent, Family Dollar said. Based on year-ago sales of $1.7 billion, that implies revenue between $1.82 billion and $1.86 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect earnings of 50 cents per share and sales of $1.81 billion.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least one year, will rise between 5 percent and 7 percent during the quarter, the company said.

For the fiscal year ending Aug. 29, earnings are expected between $1.90 and $2 per share, up from $1.66 per share last year, according to the company.

Sales will rise between 5 percent and 7 percent, with same-store sales rising between 3 percent and 5 percent, Family Dollar said. Based on year-ago revenue of $6.98 billion, that implies sales between $7.33 billion and $7.47 billion.

Analysts expect full-year earnings of $1.90 per share and sales of $7.36 billion.

Separately, Family Dollar reported its fiscal second-quarter earnings rose as shoppers increasingly turned to the discount retailer for food and other necessities.

In premarket trading, shares of Family Dollar rose $1.04, or 3.2 percent, to $33.70.