UPDATE: Costco's 4Q Profit Falls, But Recent Sales Improve
2009年10月7日 - 11:38PM
Dow Jones News
Costco Wholesale Corp.'s (COST) fiscal fourth-quarter earnings
fell 6% as the nation's biggest warehouse club continued struggling
with weak sales of nonfood products, but profit did beat
expectations for the first time this year and recent sales showed
improvement.
Costco, which sells items in bulk to its paid members, continued
showing strong membership trends and its overall merchandise
margin, a measure of profitability, rose from a year ago.
The retailer, which has been battling consumer-spending cutbacks
amid the weak global economy, said profit for the quarter ended
Aug. 30, was $374 million, or $0.85 a share, down from $398
million, or $0.90 a share, a year earlier. Net sales were $21.89
billion, down 3%.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of
77 cents and revenue of $22.34 billion.
Comparable store sales dropped 5% in the fourth quarter.
Excluding the effects of lower gas prices and a stronger dollar
during the period, same-store sales rose 1%.
Demonstrating improvement in September, same store sales for the
period were up 1%, when analysts expected a 0.6% drop. Comparable
store sales rose 4% last month when the effects of gas and the
stronger dollar are backed out.
Costco shares are up 3.9% to $60.21.
"It feels like they are hitting a turning point," said Joe
Feldman, retail analyst at Telsey Advisory Group. "This is the
second month in a row we've seen decent sales."
Costo demonstrated it can still draw customers in a weak
environment, with membership fees raising $490 million, up 3.4%,
during the quarter. Membership fees represent 75% to 80% of
operating profit and bode well for upcoming sales since customers
sign on for a period of time.
Even though sales fell from a year ago, merchandise gross margin
was up 10.9% from 10.3%.
-By Karen Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2196;
karen.talley@dowjones.com