(Reuters) -Membership-only retail chain Costco Wholesale Corp beat market estimates for first-quarter revenue on Thursday as pandemic-wary consumers staying at home bought more frozen foods, liquor and home-furnishing products.
Aiming to limit contact with fellow shoppers and retail workers, many consumers opted to shop from big-box chains that sell everything from hand soap to electronics under one roof, boosting store traffic for Costco during the quarter.
Overall online sales jumped about 86% in the first quarter, helped in part by Costco’s billion-dollar investment to speed up delivery of bulky items, including furniture and exercise equipments.
Net income attributable to the company rose to $1.17 billion, or $2.62 per share, from $844 million, or $1.90 per share, a year earlier.
Revenue from memberships, which cost between $60 and $120 per year and account for most of Costco’s gross margin, rose to $861 million from $804 million last year.
Total revenue rose to $43.21 billion in the quarter ended Nov. 22 from $37.04 billion a year earlier, versus a Refinitiv IBES estimate of $42.42 billion.
(Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
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