Costco Wholesale Q3 Profit Rises, Comps. Down 1% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) reported that its net income attributable to the company for the third quarter ended May 10, 2015 rose to $516 million or $1.17 per share, from $473 million or $1.07 per share, last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.16 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net sales for the quarter increased one percent to $25.52 billion, from $25.23 billion last year. Wall Street expected revenues of $26.63 billion.

The company also reported that total comparable sales for the quarter were down 1%, with 1 percent growth in the U.S. and a 6 percent slide in International business.

But, quarterly comparable sales, excluding negative impacts from gasoline price deflation and foreign exchange, were up 6 percent, with 5 percent growth in the U.S. and a 7 percent growth in International business.

Costco currently operates 673 warehouses, including 474 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 89 in Canada, 35 in Mexico, 26 in the United Kingdom, 20 in Japan, 11 in Korea, 10 in Taiwan, seven in Australia and one in Spain.

The company noted that it plans to open up to an additional 15 new warehouses (including one relocation to a larger and better-located facility) prior to the end of its fiscal year on August 30, 2015. Costco also operates electronic commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom and Mexico.