PriceSmart (PSMT) August net merchandise sales increased 4.5%

PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) today announced that for the month of August 2019, net merchandise sales increased 4.5% to $259.9 million, from $248.8 million in August a year earlier. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacted net merchandise sales negatively by $6.5 million or 2.5% versus the same prior year one-month period.

For the twelve months ended August 31, 2019, net merchandise sales increased 1.2% to $3,091.3 million from $3,053.8 million for the twelve months ended August 31, 2018. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacted net merchandise sales negatively by $97.6 million or 3.2% versus the same prior year twelve-month period.

There were 43 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of August 2019 and 41 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of August 2018.

For the five weeks ended September 1, 2019, comparable warehouse sales for the 41 warehouse clubs open at least 13 ½ full months increased 1.1% from the comparable five week period a year ago. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacted comparable net merchandise sales negatively by $7.3 million or 2.6% versus the same prior year period.

For the fifty-two week period ended September 1, 2019, comparable warehouse sales decreased 0.6%, compared to the comparable fifty-two week period a year ago. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacted comparable net merchandise sales negatively by $96.0 million or 3.2% versus the same prior year period.

The Company reports comparable net merchandise sales on a "same week" basis with 13 weeks in each quarter beginning on a Monday and ending on a Sunday. The periods are established at the beginning of the fiscal year to provide as close a match as possible to the calendar month and quarter that is used for financial reporting purposes. This approach equalizes the number of weekend days and weekdays in each period for improved sales comparison, as we experience higher merchandise club sales on the weekends. Each of the warehouse clubs used in the calculations was open for at least 13 ½ calendar months before its results for the current period were compared with its results for the prior period.

The term "currency exchange rates" refers to the currency exchange rates we use to convert net merchandise and comparable net merchandise sales for all countries where the functional currency is not the U.S. dollar into U.S. dollars. We calculate the effect of changes in currency exchange rates as the difference between current period activities translated using the current period's currency exchange rates, and the comparable prior year period's currency exchange rates. The disclosure of the effects of currency exchange rate fluctuations on the Company's results permits investors to understand better our underlying performance.

Fourth Quarter 2019 Earnings Announcement Details:

PriceSmart plans to release fourth quarter fiscal year 2019 financial results on Tuesday, October 29, 2019, after the market closes. PriceSmart management will host a conference call at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time (9:00 a.m. Pacific time) on Wednesday, October 30, 2019, to discuss the financial results. Individuals interested in participating in the conference call may do so by dialing (855) 209-8211 toll free, or (412) 317-5214 for international callers and asking to join the PriceSmart, Inc. call. A digital replay will be available through November 6, 2019, following the conclusion of the call by dialing (877) 344-7529 for domestic callers, or (412) 317-0088 for international callers, and entering replay passcode 10134778.

You May Also Be Interested In

• SanDisk upgraded at JPMorgan after investor day; shares climb
• Cleantek Industries Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results with Record Revenue
• Bernstein SocGen Group Reiterates Outperform Rating on JD.com, Inc (JD), 'very cheaply valued'