Shares in Dollar General Corp. surged 5.1% in premarket trading on May 30 after the discount retailer reported fiscal first-quarter earnings that beat analysts' expectations and maintained its fiscal 2019 guidance.

The company reported that diluted EPS for the quarter ended May 3 rose 8.8% to $1.48 from $1.36 in the year-earlier quarter, beating the mean consensus estimate for GAAP EPS of $1.39 according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Dollar General's net income climbed to $385.0 million from $364.9 million in the year-earlier quarter.

Net sales increased 8.3% to $6.62 billion from $6.11 billion in the year-ago period, while same-store sales grew 3.8%.

"This net sales increase included positive sales contributions from new stores and growth in same-store sales, modestly offset by the impact of store closures," the company said in a statement. Dollar General added that growth in the consumables, seasonal and home categories was partly offset by a decline in apparel.

Dollar General reaffirmed its outlook for fiscal 2019. The retailer continues to expect diluted EPS of between $6.30 and $6.50 assuming an effective tax rate rate of 22% to 22.5%. The retailer forecasts net sales growth of about 7% and a 2.5% increase in same-store sales. Operating profit is expected to grow between 4% and 6%.

The company opened 240 new stores, remodeled 330 stores and relocated 27 stores in its first fiscal quarter.

The retailer's board of directors on May 29 declared a quarterly cash dividend of 32 cents per share payable on or before July 23 to shareholders of record on July 9.

In premarket trading in New York, Dollar General shares were up $5.99 at $124.50.