Costco Wholesale March Comps. Up 5% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Membership warehouses operator Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) said that comparable sales for the month of March increased 5%. Monthly comparable sales rose by 6% in the U.S., and by 4% in the International segment.

Excluding negative impacts from gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange, comparable sales for the month advanced by 7% for the total company, with a 6% increase in U.S and a 9% growth in international region.

Net sales was $10.43 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 6, 2014, an increase of eight percent from $9.67 billion during the similar five-week period last year. This year's five-week period included 35 days of sales compared to 34 last year, reflecting the timing of Easter. This calendar shift positively impacted this year's net and comparable sales by an estimated one to one and one-half percent.

For the thirty-one weeks ended April 6, 2014, the company reported net sales of $64.65 billion, an increase of six percent from $61.02 billion during the similar period last year.