The Cato Corporation’s second quarter earnings increased 83 percent on higher same-store sales, the company reported Thursday.

Net earnings for the quarter that ended on Aug. 3 were $11.87 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, compared with $6.48 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, a year earlier.

Second quarter sales totaled $212.6 million, up from last year’s $208.9 million in total revenue. Cato said the increase was led by higher merchandise margins and savings.

“Our performance in the second quarter and first half of 2019 exceeded our expectations,” CEO John Cato said in a press release. “However, we remain cautiously optimistic about the second half of the year given the difficult retail environment and the potential effect of new tariffs.”

Gross margin increased to 38 percent of sales for the second quarter, which was attributed to higher merchandise margins and lower occupancy costs. This compares to 37.3 percent of sales for last year’s second quarter.

Cato is a Charlotte-based corporation that sells women’s clothing and accessories. The company currently operates 1,299 stores, compared to 1,350 stores one year ago. The company operates the “Cato,” “Versona” and “It’s Fashion” concepts.

Shares of Cato were trading at $16.32 on Thursday morning, up from the day’s open of $14.79.