ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corp. here said Thursday that sales for the recently ended fiscal year passed the $100 billion mark for the first time.
For the 52-week fiscal year that ended Sept. 1, the company reported sales of $102.9 billion, an increase of 6% over the preceding year, which had one extra week. For the 16-week fourth quarter, sales were up 1%, to $31.8 billion, compared with the 17-week quarter of a year ago.
Comparable-store sales were also up 6% for the year, and rose 5% for the fourth quarter. The company is scheduled to report its full results for the year on Oct. 9.
In a prerecorded call describing sales for the full year, the fourth quarter, and the month of August, Jeff Elliot, assistant vice president of financial planning and investor relations, said comparable-store sales of food and sundries were up “in the mid-single digits” for the month of August, with minimal inflation. The strongest areas within food and sundries were candy, cooler products and frozen foods.
Fresh foods, meanwhile, had positive comp-store sales “in the high single-digit range” for the month, he said, with the strongest results in service deli and produce.
Read more: Costco Sales Pace June Gains
“Fresh foods experienced slight price inflation for the month compared to last year, basically similar as it has been running for the last several months,” he said.
Regionally, Costco said it experience the best results in the Southeast, the Midwest, and Texas.
“We suspect that California remains in line with the company average, which has been the case for several months,” said Charles Grom, an analyst with Sterne Agee, in a research note.
International sales “continue to be strong in both Canada and Mexico,” he added.
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