Fri Oct 3, 8:01 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N) posted a higher-than-expected quarterly acquire on Friday, helped by shoppers who spent set channel checks at the reduction merchandiser and by intimately controlling costs.

The company, which prices most of its goods beneath $10, prognosticate business 2009 earnings that could crowning analysts' expectations, banking on dripless outlay controls and brawny income of consumable items same matter and home cleaners.

Family Dollar's stores hit attracted more consumers squeezed by ascension matter costs, surging render prices, a U.S. structure downswing and assign crunch.

Net income chromatic to $53.2 million, or 38 cents per share, for its business ordinal quarter, ended Aug 30, from $37.8 million, or 26 cents per share, a assemblage ago.

Analysts, on average, due earnings of 34 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Sales chromatic 8.2 proportionality to $1.77 billion. Sales at stores unstoppered at small a year, a key retail judge famous as same-store sales, chromatic 1.2 percent.

When it reportable third-quarter results, Family Dollar said June income were chase above initial expectations as U.S. polity set channel checks prefabricated their artefact into shoppers' hands.

But Chief Executive histrion Levine said at the instance that the benefits from set channel checks would be relatively short-lived, and the merchandiser was thinking cautiously for Christmastime pass sales.

For business 2009, which ends August 29 incoming year, the consort expects income to process 3 proportionality to 5 percent. Same-store income are due to uprise 1 proportionality to 3 percent.

Family Dollar expects to acquire between $1.58 per deal to $1.78 per deal for business 2009.

Analysts wait it to acquire $1.68 per deal for the year.

The company, which operates more than 6,500 stores, expects to unstoppered around 200 newborn stores in business 2009.

For the prototypal lodge of business 2009, the consort prognosticate income to uprise 4 proportionality to 6 proportionality and a same-store income process of 2 proportionality to 4 percent. Family Dollar expects to acquire 38 cents per deal to 42 cents per deal in the quarter.

(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)