2nd UPDATE: Costco 4Q Profit Falls, But Recent Sales Improve
2009年10月8日 - 3:53AM
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.
Demonstrating improvement in September, same-store sales for the
period were up 1%, while analysts had expected a 0.6% drop, as
customer traffic rose 6.5% from a year ago. Chief Financial Officer
Richard Galanti said during a conference call that virtually all
U.S. regions and product categories showed improvement during the
month, although average purchases remained lower because food and
fuel prices have come down.
While not offering an earnings outlook, Galanti said that by the
end of this month the company may see easier comparisons because
gas prices are well past their peak and the dollar's strength has
been receding, with the latter helping foreign exchange rates.
Costco is remaining cautious, however, with Galanti saying the
company is contending with skyrocketing health-care costs and
keeping its expansion for 2010 at about the same level as this
year, which saw 16 stores open.
"There is still a lot of unpredictability out there," Galanti
said.
Costco, which has been battling consumer-spending cutbacks amid
the weak global economy, said profit for the quarter ended Aug. 30,
was $374 million, or 85 cents a share, down from $398 million, or
$0.90 a share, a year earlier. Total revenue was $22.38 billion,
down 3.1%.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had projected earnings of
77 cents and revenue of $22.34 billion.
Costo demonstrated it was still drawing 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%
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%.
"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."
Costco shares were recently up 2.2% at $59.20.
-By Karen Talley, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2196;
karen.talley@dowjones.com