Sales boost Costco profits 21 percent

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Discount retailing giant Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday that profits grew 21 percent in its fiscal first quarter, helped by higher sales and more revenue from membership fees.

For the three months ended Nov. 21, the Issaquah company reported earnings of $193.2 million or 40 cents per share, up from $160.2 million or 34 cents per share in the same period last year.

Sales rose 10 percent to $11.34 billion, up from $10.31 billion in the same period a year ago.

Costco’s results met the expectations of Wall Street analysts, who had been expecting earnings of 40 cents per share on total revenue, including membership fees, of $11.57 billion.

Shares in the company, which had been trading near a 52-week high of $50.46, slipped 80 cents, or 1.6 percent, to close at $48.10 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Same-store sales, which look at Costco warehouses that have been open at least a year, rose 7 percent from the same period last year. But the company said this quarter’s sales figures were affected by a change in accounting rules that alters the way it reports sales on special coupon promotions.