CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Cato, a women's clothing and accessories company, said Thursday that its February revenue at stores open at least a year dropped 3 percent, hurt by difficult economic conditions.

This metric is an indicator of a retailer's health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

While ongoing tough economic conditions pressured Cato's sales in February, Chairman, President and CEO John Cato said in a statement that it saw some benefit from the delay in tax refunds.

For the four weeks ended March 2, total revenue edged up 1 percent, to $84.7 million. There is no Wall Street estimate on what revenue would be because too few analysts cover the company.

Cato Corp., which is based in Charlotte, N.C., had 1,306 stores in 31 states as of March 2.