PriceSmart Announces First
Quarter Results of Operations
December Sales Also Announced
For
the first quarter of fiscal year 2007 net warehouse sales increased 19% to
$198.1 million, from $166.5 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2006.
Total revenue for the first quarter was $202.5 million, compared to $170.0
million in the prior year. The Company
had 23 warehouse clubs in operation as of November 30, 2006 and 2005.
The
Company recorded operating income in the quarter of $7.2 million, compared to
operating income of $3.1 million in the prior year. Net income was $4.1 million, or $.14 per
diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 compared to $2.0 million, or
$.08 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2006.
The Company also announced that for
the month of December 2006, net sales increased 20.0% to $97.9 million from $81.5 million
in December a year earlier. For the four
months ended December 31, 2006, net sales increased 19.4% to $296.0 million
from $248.0 million in the same period last year. There were 23 warehouse clubs in operation at
the end of December 2006 and 2005.
For the four weeks ended December 31, 2006, comparable
warehouse sales for warehouse clubs open at least 12 full months increased 23.6%
compared to the same four-week period last year. For the seventeen weeks ended December 31,
2006, comparable warehouse sales increased 19.7% compared to the comparable
seventeen-week period a year ago. The
comparable period for the previous fiscal year ended on January 01, 2006 which
was a holiday resulting in one additional sales day for the current comparable
period ending on December 31, 2006.
About PriceSmart
PriceSmart, headquartered in
This
press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the Company's
anticipated future revenues and earnings, adequacy of future cash flow and
related matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements containing the words "expect," "believe,"
"will," "may," "should," "project,"
"estimate," "scheduled," and like expressions, and the
negative thereof. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially, including the following risks:
the Company had substantial net losses in fiscal 2003, 2004 and 2005, and may
not be able to sustain the profitability it achieved in fiscal 2006 in future
periods; the Company’s financial performance is dependent on international
operations which exposes the Company to various risks; any failure by the
Company to manage its widely dispersed operations could adversely affect the
Company’s business; although the Company has taken and continues to take steps
to improve significantly its internal controls, there may be material
weaknesses or significant deficiencies that the Company has not yet identified;
the Company faces significant competition; the Company faces difficulties in
the shipment of and inherent risks in the importation of merchandise to its
warehouse clubs; the Company is exposed to weather and other risks associated
with international operations; declines in the economies of the countries in
which the Company operates its warehouse clubs would harm its business; a few
of the Company’s stockholders have control over the Company's voting stock,
which will make it difficult to complete some corporate transactions without
their support and may prevent a change in control; the loss of key personnel
could harm the Company’s business; the Company is subject to volatility in
foreign currency exchange; the Company faces the risk of exposure to product
liability claims, a product recall and adverse publicity; a determination that
the Company's long-lived or intangible assets have been impaired could
adversely affect the Company's future results of operations and financial
position; and the Company faces costs and compliance risks associated with
Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002; as well as the other risks
detailed in the Company's SEC reports, including the Company's Form 10-K filed
pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on November 13, 2006. The
Company assumes no obligation and expressly disclaims any duty to update any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
this presentation or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Certain prior period amounts may have been
reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.
For further information, please
contact Robert E. Price, Chief Executive Officer (858) 551-2336; or John M.
Heffner, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (858) 404-8826.
PRICESMART, INC.
UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)