Costco's (NASDAQ: COST) profits are off 6% for its fiscal fourth quarter. A stronger dollar and increased employee benefits costs are cited as the reasons. Nonetheless, the retailer did beat analyst expectations.
The company, which operates warehouse clubs, pulled in earnings of $374 million (85 cents per share) for the quarter ending August 30, 2009. While this is down from $398 million (90 cents per share) a year earlier, it was good enough to top the 77 cents per share that analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast.
Revenue fell 3% to $22.38 billion -- from $23.1 billion -- but still beat the Street's estimate of $22.34 billion. For stores open at least a year, sales fell 5% in the quarter. Sales in the United States were off 6%, with the international segment of the company's sales down 3%. Take out the impact of a stronger dollar and lower gas prices, sales at stores open at least a year were actually up 1%. Non-U.S. stores open for at least a year saw sales climb 7%. The strong dollar implications were felt most in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Korea.
September beat the quarter, with a 6% gain internationally and an overall sales increase of at least 1% to 4% when you take the dollar and gas implications out of the equation.
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