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Costco profit jumps 31%; February sales rise 7%
By Andria Cheng, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. wholesale club, on Wednesday said its quarterly quarter jumped 31%, boosted by international demand and U.S. sales of gasoline.

Net income in the fiscal second-quarter climbed to $327.9 million, or 74 cents a share, from $249.5 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier, when it had $53.4 million in non-recurring charges, the Issaquah, Wash.-based company said. Sales in the quarter ended Feb. 17 rose 12% to $17 billion.
Profit matched the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. Sales exceeded the $16.9 billion in average analyst estimate, according to Thomson Financial.
U.S. same-store sales rose 7%, including a 5% increase in the U.S. and a 17% jump internationally. Costco has benefited from higher sales of gasoline, where average price per gallon surged 29% during the quarter. A lower U.S. dollar against the Canadian currency also helped sales. Costco has also benefited from budget-conscious shoppers buying bulk items in consolidated trips, analysts said.
Costco also said Wednesday February same-store sales rose 7%, including a 5% increase in the U.S. Overseas sales climbed 18%. That outpaced the 0.5% to 1% average gain projected for U.S. retailers, according to International Council of Shopping Centers. See full story.
Same-store sales are a key retail performance metric that excludes sales from newly opened or closed locations. Costco has 534 warehouses, including 391 in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.