Costco August Sales, Comps Rise

(RTTNews) - Membership warehouses operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) Thursday reported increases in sales and comparable sales for the month of August.

Net sales for the four weeks ended September 1 climbed 7 percent to $7.95 billion from $7.44 billion in the similar period last year.

Comparable sales were up 4 percent with a 4 percent increase in the U.S. and a 2 percent growth in the International segment. According to the retailer, changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates had a negative impact on comparable sales.

Excluding changes in gasoline prices and foreign exchange rates, comparable sales jumped 6 percent with a growth of 5 percent in the U.S. and an increase of 8 percent in the International segment.

In July, Costco's net sales rose 7 percent to $7.87 billion and comparable sales improved 4 percent. For the 16-week fourth quarter, net sales edged up 1 percent to $31.8 billion from $31.5 billion in the 17-week fourth quarter of fiscal year 2012 that ended September 2, 2012.

Comparable sales improved 5 percent. Excluding the negative impact of foreign exchange rates, comparable sales rose 5 percent in the 16-week period.

For the 52-week fiscal year ended September 1, the company reported a 6 percent increase in net sales to $102.9 billion from $97.1 billion in the 53-week prior year.

Comparable sales for the year increased 6 percent. Excluding the negative impact of foreign exchange rates, comparable sales climbed 6 percent.

The company expects to report fourth-quarter results on October 9. Costco currently operates 634 warehouses, including 451 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 85 in Canada and 25 in the U.K.

COST closed at $111.50 on Wednesday.