Family Dollar April same-store sales up 4.3 pct

NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Discount store chain Family Dollar Stores Inc (FDO.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday said sales at stores open at least a year rose 4.3 percent in April.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a same-store sales increase of 4.8 percent, according to a Reuters survey, while the company had forecast a rise of 4 percent to 6 percent.

Total sales for the four weeks ended May 3, increased 7.2 percent to $516.0 million, it said.

For May the retailer said it expects same-store sales to be between flat and up 2 percent. (Reporting by Nicole Maestri, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)