Dollar General lifted its outlook for the year as profit and sales climbed in the latest quarter, boosted by consumers' continued reliance on the company for low-cost goods.

The discount retailer on Thursday posted a profit of $550.3 million for its quarter ended July 31, up from $411.4 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, quarterly earnings of $2.48 a share topped the $2.01 a share that analysts polled by FactSet expected.

Sales climbed 5.2% to $11.29 billion, ahead of the $11.2 billion that Wall Street modeled. The company attributed the increase to new store openings, which outpaced store closures, as well as higher same-store sales.

Comparable sales, which account for store openings and closings, rose 3.5%, topping the 2.6% increase that analysts had forecast and reflecting growth in both traffic and average transaction amount. The company noted growth across its consumables, seasonal, apparel and home-products categories.

Chief Executive Todd Vasos said the results exceeded expectations, even before factoring in the benefit of tariff refunds and related reinvestments.

"Our results reflect continued momentum across the business," he said.

"This broad-based performance reflects the strength of our unique combination of value and convenience and the important role Dollar General plays in the communities we serve."

Shares jumped 7.5%, to $131.99, in premarket trading.

For the year, Dollar General now expects earnings of $7.80 to $8 a share, up from a prior forecast of $7.20 to $7.45 a share. Analysts were looking for $7.40 a share.

Net sales growth is now projected to be in the range of 4% to 4.3%, compared with a prior expectation of 3.7% to 4.2%. And same-store sales are now forecast to grow 2.5% to 2.9%, compared with prior guidance for growth of 2.2% to 2.7%.

The report comes after rival Dollar Tree separately on Thursday said tariff refunds helped boost its profit during the latest quarter and gave the company confidence to raise its full-year earnings outlook.