PriceSmart reported on Oct. 26 that fiscal fourth-quarter revenue reached $1.52 billion, up 13.9%, as currency movements lifted reported sales growth and the warehouse retailer expanded in Jamaica. Management is scheduled to discuss the results at noon Eastern on Oct. 27.
This Rapid News Brief separates the completed quarter from subsequent expansion and the forthcoming earnings discussion. The reporting period ended Aug. 31; the Jamaica opening took place in October.
Currency adds to merchandise growth
Net merchandise sales rose 13.8% to $1.48 billion, or 7.8% in constant currency, PriceSmart said. Comparable merchandise sales increased 12.2%, compared with 6.2% when currency effects were excluded. Those figures cover 55 established clubs over a 13-week comparison period.
StreetInsider separately reported quarterly revenue of $1.52 billion and earnings of $1.21 a share. Its brief placed those figures against analyst estimates; the operational distinction here is between reported growth and growth without exchange-rate changes.
Expansion precedes the earnings discussion
PriceSmart said its October Montego Bay opening brought its Jamaican network to three clubs and its overall network to 59. That opening came after the fiscal year-end, when the company operated 58 locations.
The company’s Sept. 1 scheduling announcement had already set the Oct. 27 call for noon Eastern, or 9 a.m. Pacific. It also documented the August opening of a tenth Costa Rican club, in Ciudad Quesada. That approximately 42,000-square-foot sales floor sits about 47 miles northwest of the nearest club in San Jose, according to the company.
The San Diego-based company operates membership warehouse clubs across Latin America and the Caribbean. Its September announcement described a footprint spanning a dozen countries and one U.S. territory, placing both Costa Rica and Jamaica within a broader regional store network.
A replay is scheduled to remain available through Nov. 3. The call is a forthcoming management discussion, not an additional set of financial results already released. For retail operators, the useful follow-up is how management distinguishes established-location performance, exchange-rate effects and the contribution of newer stores. Those are questions for the discussion, not forecasts of its answers.