Costco sales increased in second-quarter

Costco Wholesale Corp. comparable-store sales increased in second-quarter, but profit declined by 8.7%, affected by the rise in merchandise costs and overhead expenses.
In the second-quarter Costco said that comparable-store sales increased by 1%, the first increase following three straight quarters of declines. Without the impact of currency fluctuations and lower fuel prices, sales rose by 5%.
Costco is the second largest retailer in the world, with store locations in US, Canada, UK, Australia, Japan, Mexic and annual revenues over $110 billion.

For the quarter, Costco reported a profit of $546 million, down from $598 million, and $28 billion in revenues.
For the four-week reporting month of February, ended February 28, 2016, Costco reported net sales of $8.28 billion, an increase of one percent from $8.18 billion during the similar four-week period last year.
For the twenty-six week period ended February 28, 2016, net sales were $58.25 billion, an increase of two percent from $57.19 billion during the similar period last year.

Costco currently operates 698 warehouses, including 488 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 90 in Canada, 36 in Mexico, 27 in the United Kingdom, 24 in Japan, 12 in Korea, 11 in Taiwan, eight in Australia and two in Spain. Costco also operates electronic commerce web sites in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Korea and Taiwan.