Costco Profit Tops Analysts' Views

ISSAQUAH, Wash. (TheStreet) -- Costco Wholesale (COST Quote) said fourth-quarter earnings were $374 million, or 85 cents a share, down from a year earlier but ahead of analysts' expectations as sales fell 3%.

Net sales in the quarter were $21.89 billion, down from $22.63 billion a year earlier. Same-store sales in the quarter dipped 5%. Excluding the negative impacts from gasoline deflation and foreign exchange, same-store sales rose 1%. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the warehouse retailer to post a same-stores decline of 6.38%.

In a press release Wednesday, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti cited the following factors for the company's decrease in fourth-quarter earnings: "Ongoing softness in U.S. sales, primarily the result of a weak economic environment; higher employee benefit costs, mainly consisting of higher health care eligibility and usage; and lower U.S. dollar amounts of international profits as a result of weaker foreign currencies."

Analysts expected Costco to report fourth-quarter earnings of 77 cents a share on revenue of $22.33 billion.

Same-store sales in September rose 1%. Analysts expected a same-store sales decrease of 0.7%.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York .

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