US: FY profits up at Costco

Oct 10, 2012 (Marketwire via COMTEX) --Costco Wholesale Corporation ("Costco" or the "Company") (NASDAQ:COST) announced today its operating results for the 17-week fourth quarter and the 53-week fiscal year 2012 ended September 2, 2012.

Net sales for the 17-week fourth quarter were $31.52 billion, an increase of 14 percent from $27.59 billion in the 16-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2011 ended August 28, 2011. Net sales for the 53-week fiscal year 2012 were $97.06 billion, an increase of 12 percent from $87.05 billion in the prior 52-week fiscal year.

Comparable sales for the 17-week fourth quarter and the 53-week fiscal year 2012, using comparable sales periods as well as comparable warehouses (those open for a year or more), were as follows:

Inflation in gasoline prices had a slightly negative impact on comparable sales for the 17-week period and a positive impact for the 53-week period. Foreign currencies had a negative impact for both periods. Excluding these effects, comparable sales were as follows:

Net income for the 17-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 was $609 million, or $1.39 per diluted share, compared to $478 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, during the 16-week fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. The fourth quarter this year included an $11.5 million pretax LIFO charge ($.02 per diluted share) compared to a $32 million pretax LIFO charge ($.04 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011. Net income for the 53-week fiscal 2012 was $1.71 billion, or $3.89 per diluted share, compared to $1.46 billion, or $3.30 per diluted share, during the 52-week fiscal year 2011. For all of fiscal 2012, the LIFO charge was $20.5 million pretax ($.03 per diluted share), compared to an $87 million pretax ($.12 per diluted share) LIFO charge last year.

Costco ended its 2012 fiscal year on September 2 with 608 warehouses in operation, including 439 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, 13 in Japan, nine in Taiwan, eight in Korea, and three in Australia. The Company plans to open up to 14 new warehouses before the end of calendar year 2012. The Company also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com and at www.costco.ca in Canada.

A conference call to discuss these fiscal 2012 fourth quarter and year-end operating results is scheduled for 7:00 a.m. (PT) today, October 10, 2012, and is available via a webcast on www.costco.com (click on Investor Relations and "Play Webcast").

Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including health care costs), energy, and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.