Costco Wholesale Corp. posted an 11.1 percent rise in profits for the fiscal fourth quarter ended August 31, outperforming analyst expectations. Over the full year, the company’s earnings increased by 9.9 percent.
Net sales for the quarter climbed 8.0 percent to $84.4 billion, up from $78.2 billion last year. For the fiscal year, net sales reached $269.9 billion, representing an 8.1 percent increase over last year’s $249.6 billion.
Comparable sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year were as follows:
*Excluding the impacts from changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange.
Net income for the fourth quarter was $2.610 billion, $5.87 per diluted share, compared to $2.354 billion, $5.29 per diluted share, last year. Wall Street’s consensus target had been $5.81. Last year’s results included a net non-recurring tax benefit of $63 million, $0.14 per diluted share, related to a transfer pricing settlement, and true-ups of tax reserves.
Net income for the fiscal year was $8.099 billion, $18.21 per diluted share, compared to $7.367 billion, $16.56 per diluted share, last year.
Costco currently operates 914 warehouses, including 629 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 110 in Canada, 42 in Mexico, 37 in Japan, 29 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Korea, 15 in Australia, 14 in Taiwan, seven in China, five in Spain, two in France, two in Sweden, and one each in Iceland, and New Zealand. Costco also operates e-commerce sites in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Mexico, Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.
Image courtesy Costco
