PriceSmart Net Merchandise Sales Rise 7.7 Pct

Warehouse club retailer PriceSmart, Inc. reported as part of its Q1 fiscal 2021 operating results that net merchandise sales climbed 7.7 percent to $838.4 million from $778.7 million in Q1 fiscal year 2020, according to an announcement.

“PriceSmart delivered solid results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. In November, mobility restrictions were reduced in many of our markets. We meanwhile expanded our Click and Go™ contactless shopping program, which provides for ordering online and curbside pickup, and as of Q1, includes delivery options in all of our markets,” PriceSmart, Inc. CEO Sherry S. Bahrambeygui said in the announcement.

PriceSmart had 46 warehouse clubs running as of Nov. 30 of last year in contrast to 45 warehouse clubs running at the same time the year prior.

The firm said comparable net merchandise sales for the 43 warehouse clubs that have been in operation for more than 13.5 calendar months climbed 3.6 percent for the timeframe of 13 weeks that concluded Nov. 29, 2020 in contrast to the comparable period of the past year.

It registered $44.5 million in operating income in the fiscal first quarter in contrast to $30.7 million of operating income in the prior year timeframe.

San Diego-based PriceSmart owns and runs membership shopping warehouse clubs in the Caribbean in addition to Latin America that are in the style of those in the United States.

As for its overall results, PriceSmart reported net income attributable to the company of 90 cents per diluted share on total revenues of $877.4 million for Q1 fiscal year 2021.

The news comes as Costco Wholesale Corp. reported that its online shopping sales jumped by 90.6 percent in Q4. Costco reported in a November press release that it had “net sales of $13.8 billion for the retail month of October, the four weeks ended Nov. 1.”

In a call with analysts following Costco’s unveiling of its Q4 results, Costco Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Richard A. Galanti said that the company “enjoyed strong sales results during the June, July and August timeframe.”