PriceSmart Invests in Broader Capabilities and Unit Growth
Latin American shopping-club warehouse operator PriceSmart (NASDAQ: PSMT) released fiscal second-quarter 2019 results on April 9. While foreign currency translation muted the organization's top line, investments in technology, logistics, and new locations point to faster growth in the near future. Shareholders endorsed the company's prospects by bumping up its share price more than 7% in the trading session following release of second-quarter numbers. Note that all comparative numbers in the discussion that follows are presented against the prior-year quarter.
PriceSmart: The raw numbers
What happened this quarter?
- Foreign currency translation impacted reported revenue by 3.6%. Thus, in constant currency terms, PriceSmart's top line expanded by 5.2% last quarter.
- Comparable-store sales dipped by 0.9%. After removing a 3.7% foreign currency drag, comps improved by 2.8%.
- The company's March 2018 acquisition of Aeropost (an online marketplace that also assists Latin American customers in purchasing merchandise from U.S.-based businesses) contributed $9.98 million to quarterly sales.
- Investments to utilize Aeropost's technology, distribution, and logistics capabilities to improve PriceSmart's new omnichannel selling strategy produced a drag of $4.2 million on earnings during the quarter.
- Membership income rose 1.1% to $12.8 million. In the first two quarters of the fiscal year, PriceSmart has increased memberships by 3.2% over the prior year, bringing its total membership count to 1.6 million at the end of the fiscal second quarter of 2018.
- Gross margin increased 40 basis points to 16.2%, as Aeropost contributed 60 basis points of gross profitability to the overall business, which was slightly offset by other factors.
- While PriceSmart's operating income of $36.5 million was roughly comparable to the $37.3 million recorded in the second quarter of 2018, net income was appreciably higher this quarter. This is due to a significant income tax expense in the prior-year quarter, the result of a one-time tax on accumulated earnings that the country repatriated from Latin America to the U.S.
What management had to say
During PriceSmart's earnings conference call, longtime employee and board member Sherry Bahrambeygui, who was appointed CEO at the end of January, communicated her intent to return to the company's original business philosophy, while ramping up efforts to supplement club warehouse sales with digital revenue:
During the call, Bahrambeygui also pointed to PriceSmart's recent investments in smaller store formats, new distribution centers, and delivery capabilities, which it intends to use to improve margins and capture additional market share.
Looking forward
PriceSmart doesn't offer shareholders any earnings guidance. However, the company did confirm that it's accelerating the pace of club openings compared with recent years. It plans to increase its locations by about 10% in the current calendar year, adding two stores in Panama, one in Guatemala, and one in the Dominican Republic. The new clubs will bring total unit count to 45 stores by year-end. Along with investments to incorporate Aeropost's technology and infrastructure to boost digital sales, the faster pace of store additions should produce meaningful revenue improvement in the coming quarters.
10 stocks we like better than PriceSmartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.*
David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and PriceSmart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.
*Stock Advisor returns as of March 1, 2019
Asit Sharma has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.