Costco Wholesale Corporation posted a 14% increase in fiscal July net sales to $5.70 billion from $5.02 billion in the same four-week period last year. Comparable store sales at at U.S. stores increased 10% for the period.


For the first forty-eight weeks of its reporting period ended August 3, 2008, the company reported net sales of $65.54 billion, an increase of 13% from $58.19 billion during the similar forty-eight-week period last year.

Comparable sales for the four-week and forty-eight-week periods ended August 3, 2008, were as follows:

                                      4 Weeks   48 Weeks
                                      ——–  ——–
                  US                     10%       6%
                  International          11%      15%

                  Total Company          10%       8%
                                      ========  ========

The U.S. comparable sales figure includes, among other things, the effect of gasoline price inflation, with the average sales price per gallon of gasoline up 41%, as compared to the year-earlier July. Excluding gasoline price inflation, U.S. comparable sales would have been up 6%. In addition, foreign exchange rates, primarily in Canada, positively impacted international comparable sales results. On a local currency basis, international comparable sales increased 9% in July.