Costco sales are up 15% in the last quarter

Comparable sales, in stores or digital channels operating for at least 12 months, increased 12.9% during the February quarter, excluding the impact of gasoline sales and currency movements. Retail e-commerce sales were up 74.8% from a year earlier, as adjusted.

The average ticket size increased 11.9% for the entire company.

The company experienced some supply chain challenges during the quarter in terms of container shortages and port delays, leading to delays in furniture, sporting goods and miscellaneous items such as seafood, imported cheeses and oils. .

“We expect these pressures to ease in the coming months, but it will affect everyone,” Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti said Thursday in a call to analysts. The cost to the company per shipping container increases by 10% to 15%, Galanti estimated in the call.

Overall, the company said it had some pressure to keep shelves equipped with electronics, such as TVs, computers and smart home devices due to the shortage of chips, and with canned drinks due to the lack of aluminum shortage.

Quarterly results included a strong December period. The company’s net sales for the five-week period ended Jan. 3 rose 12 percent to $ 19,144 million from a year ago.

Large box retailers, including Walmart Inc.

and goal Corp.

TGT -2.18%

they have generally gone well in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, selling items they buy more tired of the pandemic, such as food and household items. In general, large retailers and grocery stores have remained open throughout the pandemic, preventing early closures.

Costco posted a profit of $ 951 million, or $ 2.14 per share, during the quarter, up from $ 931 million or $ 2.10 per share, in the comparable period last year. Analysts pointed to $ 2.45 per share. This included $ 246 million in pre-tax costs related primarily to premium wages paid during the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the quarter, the company reported sales, general and administrative expenses of $ 4.342 billion, up 16% from the previous year.

The company increased its pay for its U.S. workers to at least $ 16 an hour starting this month. Costco has long paid its store workers more than most of the competition, in part to reduce turnover as part of its low-cost operating model. His minimum wage in the U.S. has been $ 15 an hour, the same as his starting salary on Amazon.com Inc.

and goal. Costco has about 180,000 full-time and part-time American employees.

Costco said it spent about $ 1.1 billion on Covid-19-related expenses between March last year and February this year, with the majority earmarked for a $ 2 per hour pay rise for store workers, Galanti said. In the future, with the permanent increase in wages, spending of about $ 1 billion will fall to about $ 500 million for the current year, he said.

Write to Kimberly Chin to [email protected]