Costco Wholesale Corporation reported net sales of $4.41 billion for the five weeks ended April 4, 2004, an increase of 14 percent from $3.88 billion in the same five-week period of the prior fiscal year.

For the first 31 weeks of its 2004 fiscal year ended April 4, 2004, the Company reported net sales of $27.79 billion, an increase of 14 percent from $24.33 billion during the similar 31-week period of the prior fiscal year.


Reported net sales were reduced by the implementation of Emerging Issues Task Force Issue No. 03-10 (“EITF 03-10”), “Application of Issue No. 02-16 by Resellers to Sales Incentives Offered to Consumers by Manufacturers”, which was effective at the beginning of the Company's fiscal third quarter, February 16, 2004. EITF 03-10, which deals primarily with Costco's vendor coupon and rebate programs, reduces both net sales and merchandise costs by an equal amount, and thus will not affect the Company's consolidated gross profit or net income. Had EITF 03-10 been in effect for the comparable 5-week and 31-week reporting periods in fiscal 2003 the reported net sales increase for those periods this year would have been 16 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

Reported comparable sales increases for the 5-week and 31-week periods ended April 4, 2004, were as follows:

                       5 Weeks        31 Weeks
                     ------------   ------------
US                            10%            10%
International                 17%            20%

Total Company                 11%            11%
                     ============   ============

Had sales for the 5-week and 31-week periods last year been reported under EITF 03-10, Total Company comparable sales increases would have been 13 percent and 12 percent respectively. Current year sales results and comparable sales increases in all of the above comparisons for International and Total Company were positively impacted by stronger foreign currencies.