Costco sales increase 15% in last quarter

Comparable sales, in stores or digital channels that have been in operation for at least 12 months, increased 12.9% in the February quarter, excluding the impact of gasoline sales and currency fluctuations. The retailer’s e-commerce sales were up 74.8% year-over-year, as corrected.

The average ticket size increased 11.9% company-wide.

The company experienced supply chain issues during the quarter due to container shortages and delays at ports, which resulted in delays in furniture, sporting goods and sundries like fruit. sea, imported cheeses and oils.

“We expect these pressures to ease in the coming months, but it affects everyone,” CFO Richard Galanti said on a call with analysts on Thursday. The cost to the business per shipping container is up 10% to 15%, Galanti estimated on the call.

Overall, the company said it has some pressure to keep shelves stocked with electronics, such as televisions, computers and smart home devices due to the chip shortage, and with canned drinks due to aluminum shortages.

The quarter’s results included a strong December period. The company’s net sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 3 were up 12% to $ 19.14 billion from a year ago.

Big box retailers, including Walmart Inc.

and target Corp.

TGT -2.18%

have generally performed well amid the coronavirus crisis, selling items that pandemic-weary shoppers are buying more of, such as food and household items. In general, large retailers and grocers have remained open throughout the pandemic, avoiding premature lockdown closings.

Costco reported earnings of $ 951 million, or $ 2.14 per share, for the quarter, up from $ 931 million, or $ 2.10 per share, in the same period last year. Analysts were aiming for $ 2.45 a share. This included $ 246 million in pre-tax costs primarily related to wage premiums paid during the Covid-19 pandemic.

For the quarter, the company reported selling, general and administrative expenses of $ 4.34 billion, up 16% from the previous year.

The company has raised the wages of its American workers to at least $ 16 an hour as of this month. Costco has long paid its store employees more than most of its competitors, in part to reduce sales under its low-cost operating model. His minimum wage in the United States was $ 15 an hour, the same as the starting wage on Amazon.com Inc.

and target. Costco has approximately 180,000 full-time and part-time US employees.

Costco said it spent around $ 1.1 billion on Covid-19-related expenses between March of last year and February of this year, with the majority going to a pay rise of $ 2 per hour for employees stores, Mr. Galanti said. Going forward, with the permanent salary increase in place, the expenditure of around $ 1 billion will drop to around $ 500 million for the current year, he said.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [email protected]