Costco June Comps, Sales Rise - Update

(RTTNews) - Membership warehouses operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) Thursday reported growth in both comparable sales and total sales for the five weeks ended July 6.

Total company comparable sales advanced 6 percent, with the same growth in the U.S. while International growth was 7 percent.

For the forty-four weeks ended July 6, comparable sales growth was 4 percent. The U.S. showed a 5 percent growth while International expanded 2 percent.

Inflation in gasoline prices had a positive impact on comparable sales for the five-week period, which were hurt by foreign currencies.

Excluding these effects, total comparable sales grew 6 percent. The increase in the U.S. was the same, while International increase was 8 percent.

For the five weeks ended July 6, net sales climbed 10 percent to $10.89 billion from $9.91 billion during the similar five-week period last year.

Both periods included 34 selling days in Canada and the U.S., reflecting the observance of Canada Day and Independence Day, respectively.

For the forty-four weeks ended July 6, the company reported net sales of $92.88 billion, up 7 percent from $87.04 billion reported last year.

Costco currently operates 658 warehouses, including 465 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, 87 in Canada and 25 in the U.K.

COST closed up 0.4 percent on Wednesday at $117.92.