PRICESMART ANNOUNCES FISCAL 2022 FIRST QUARTER OPERATING RESULTS
12.6% GROWTH IN NET MERCHANDISE SALES
9.4% GROWTH IN COMPARABLE NET MERCHANDISE SALES
MEMBERSHIP BASE AT RECORD LEVELS
3.3% INCREASE IN OPERATING INCOME
$0.98 DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
San Diego, CA (January 6, 2022) - PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT), operator of 49 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory, today announced its results of operations for the fiscal first quarter of 2022, which ended on November 30, 2021.
Comments from Sherry S. Bahrambeygui, Chief Executive Officer:
“Our team achieved a stellar first quarter, with Net merchandise sales growing by 12.6% and Comparable net merchandise sales growing 9.4% as compared to the same period last year. Our 12-month trailing Membership renewal rate is 89.0% and our membership base has grown to its all-time high.
“We continue to augment the benefits of our Membership, including our Wellness initiatives in areas of Optical, Pharmacy and most recently, Audiology services. Our investments in technology and our omni-channel initiatives have enabled us to further expand services, membership benefits, and convenience for our Members, allowing them to shop safely and enhancing the quality of their shopping experiences. Increasing our analytics capabilities is contributing to more timely and better decision-making in many areas of our business. In particular, the technology-enabled tools we are developing and applying are allowing us to unlock more value from our membership data, one of the key characteristics and differentiators of our business model.”
First Quarter Financial Results
Total revenues for the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 increased 11.2% to $975.4 million compared to $877.4 million in the comparable period of the prior year. For the first quarter of fiscal year 2022, net merchandise sales increased 12.6% to $944.0 million from $838.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacted net merchandise sales negatively by $8.4 million, or 1.0%, versus the same period in the prior year.
The Company had 49 warehouse clubs in operation as of November 30, 2021 compared to 46 warehouse clubs in operation as of November 30, 2020.
Comparable net merchandise sales for the 46 warehouse clubs that have been open for greater than 13 ½ calendar months increased 9.4% for the 13-week period ended November 28, 2021 compared to the comparable period of the prior year. Foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacted comparable net merchandise sales negatively by $8.5 million or 1.0% versus the same period in the prior year.
The Company recorded operating income during the fiscal first quarter of $46.0 million compared to operating income of $44.5 million in the prior year period. Net income attributable to PriceSmart was $30.5 million, or $0.98 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2022 as compared to $27.7 million, or $0.90 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2021.
PriceSmart management will host a conference call at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time (9:00 a.m. Pacific time) on Friday, January 7, 2022, 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 January 14, 2022, 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 6014456.
About PriceSmart
PriceSmart, headquartered in San Diego, owns and operates U.S. style membership shopping warehouse clubs in Latin America and the Caribbean, selling high quality merchandise and services at low prices to PriceSmart Members. PriceSmart operates 49 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory (nine in Colombia; eight in Costa Rica; seven in Panama; five in the Dominican Republic and Guatemala; four in Trinidad; three in Honduras; two each in El Salvador and Nicaragua; and one each in Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica and the United States Virgin Islands). In addition, the Company plans to open its 50th club in Portmore, Jamaica in April 2022.
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 an improved sales comparison, as the Company experiences 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 the Company uses 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. The Company calculates 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 Company believes the disclosure of the effects of currency exchange rate fluctuations on the Company’s results permits investors to understand better the Company’s underlying performance.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the Company's anticipated future revenues and earnings, adequacy of future cash flows, omni-channel initiatives, proposed warehouse club openings, the Company's performance relative to competitors, the outcome of tax proceedings and related matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements containing the words “expect,” “believe,” “will,” “may,” “should,” “project,” “plan,” “estimate,” “anticipated,” “scheduled,” “intend,” and like expressions, and the negative thereof. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially including, but not limited to: adverse changes in economic conditions in the Company’s markets, natural disasters, compliance risks, volatility in currency exchange rates and illiquidity of certain local currencies in our markets, competition, consumer and small business spending patterns, political instability, increased costs associated with the integration of online commerce with our traditional business, whether the Company can successfully execute strategic initiatives, cybersecurity breaches that could cause disruptions in our systems or jeopardize the security of Member or business information, cost increases from product and service providers, interruption of supply chains, COVID-19 related factors and challenges, including among others, the duration of the pandemic, the unknown long-term economic impact, the impact of government policies and restrictions that have limited access for our Members, and shifts in demand away from discretionary or higher priced products to lower priced products, exposure to product liability claims and product recalls, recoverability of moneys owed to PriceSmart from governments, and other important factors discussed in the Risk Factors section of the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and other factors discussed from time to time in other filings with the SEC, which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov, including Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date that they are made, and the Company does not undertake to update them, except as required by law.
For further information, please contact Michael L. McCleary, EVP, Chief Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer (858) 404-8826 or send an email to ir@pricesmart.com
