Costco Same-Store Sales Fall as Dollar Hurts

Costco Wholesale  reported a fall in comparable-store sales for the third straight quarter as a stronger dollar reduced the value of sales from overseas markets.

Comparable sales, including fuel and foreign currency impacts, fell 1 percent in the first quarter ended Nov 22, 2015. Analysts polled by research firm Consensus Metrix had expected growth of 0.3 percent.

Costco gets almost 30 percent of revenue from outside the United States. The dollar rose about 13 percent against a basket of currencies in the 12 months through November.

Excluding fuel and foreign exchange impact, comparable-store sales rose 6 percent, above the 5.9 percent growth expected by analysts polled by Consensus Metrix.

Net income attributable to the company rose to $480 million, or $1.09 per share, from $496 million, or $1.12 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 1 percent to $27.22 billion from $26.87 billion a year earlier.

Analysts on an average had expected earnings of $1.17 per share on revenue of $27.57 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Sruthi Ramakrishnan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sandra Maler)