PriceSmart : Announces First Quarter Results of Operations for Fiscal Year 2016 and December Sales

SAN DIEGO, CA--(Marketwired - Jan 7, 2016) -  PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) today announced its results of operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 which ended on November 30, 2015.

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, net warehouse club sales increased 8.6% to $690.8 million from $636.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015. Total revenues for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016 were $711.9 million compared to $656.0 million in the first quarter of the prior year. The Company had 38 clubs in operation as of November 30, 2015, compared to 36 warehouse clubs in operation as of November 30, 2014.

The Company recorded operating income for the first quarter of $37.3 million, compared to operating income of $36.3 million for the first quarter of the prior year. Net income was $23.7 million, or $0.78 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2016. Net income in the first quarter of fiscal year 2015 was $20.6 million, or $0.68 per diluted share.

For the month of December 2015, net sales increased 3.7% to $319.1 million from $307.8 million in December a year earlier. For the four months ended December 31, 2015, net sales increased 7.0% to $1,010.0 million from $944.2 million in the same period last year. There were 38 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of December 2015 compared to 36 warehouse clubs in operation in December 2014.

For the four weeks ended December 27, 2015, comparable warehouse sales for the 33 warehouse clubs open at least 13 1/2 full months increased 1.3% compared to the same four-week period last year. For the seventeen-week period ended December 27, 2015, comparable warehouse sales increased 1.6% compared to the comparable seventeen-week period a year ago.

Comparable warehouse sales were negatively impacted by the devaluation of the Colombian peso from the year ago period. Three warehouse clubs in Colombia are in the calculation for comparable warehouse sales. Excluding those warehouse clubs, the four-week and seventeen-week comparable warehouse sales for the other 30 warehouse clubs open at least 13 1/2 full months increased 3.6% and 4.6%, respectively.

PriceSmart management plans to host a conference call at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time (9:00 a.m. Pacific time) on Friday, January 8, 2016, to discuss the financial results. Individuals interested in participating in the conference call may do so by dialing [phone] toll free, or [phone] for international callers, and entering participant code 6532245. A digital replay will be available through January 31, 2016, following the conclusion of the call by dialing [phone] for domestic callers, or [phone] for international callers, and entering relay passcode 6532245.

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 at low prices to PriceSmart members. PriceSmart now operates 38 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory (six each in Costa Rica and Colombia; five in Panama, four in Trinidad; three each in Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Honduras; two each in El Salvador and Nicaragua; and one each in Aruba, Barbados, Jamaica and the United States Virgin Islands).

This press release may contain forward-looking statements concerning the Company's anticipated future revenues and earnings, adequacy of future cash flow, 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, estimate, anticipated, scheduled, and like expressions, and the negative thereof. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements containing the words "expect," "believe," "will," "may," "should," "project," "estimate," "anticipated," "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: our financial performance is dependent on international operations, which exposes us to various risks; any failure by us to manage our widely dispersed operations could adversely affect our business; we face significant competition; future sales growth depends, in part, on our ability to successfully open new warehouse clubs and grow sales in our existing locations; we might not identify in a timely manner or effectively respond to changes in consumer preferences for merchandise, which could adversely affect our relationship with members, demand for our products and market share; although we have begun to offer limited online shopping to our members, our sales could be adversely affected if one or more major international online retailers were to enter our markets or if other competitors were to offer a superior online experience; our profitability is vulnerable to cost increases; we face difficulties in the shipment of and inherent risks in the importation of, merchandise to our warehouse clubs; we are exposed to weather and other natural disaster risks; general economic conditions could adversely impact our business in various respects; we are subject to risks associated with possible changes in our relationships with third parties with which we do business, as well as the performance of such third parties; we rely extensively on computer systems to process transactions, summarize results and manage our business; failure to adequately maintain our systems and disruptions in our systems could harm our business and adversely affect our results of operations; we could be subject to additional tax liabilities; a few of our stockholders own approximately 27.8% of our voting stock as of November 30, 2015, which may make it difficult to complete some corporate transactions without their support and may impede a change in control; failure to attract and retain qualified employees, increases in wage and benefit costs, changes in laws and other labor issues could materially adversely affect our financial performance; we are subject to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates; we face the risk of exposure to product liability claims, a product recall and adverse publicity; any failure to maintain the security of the information relating to our company, members, employees and vendors that we hold, whether as a result of cybersecurity attacks on our information systems, failure of internal controls, employee negligence or malfeasance or otherwise, could damage our reputation with members, employees, vendors and others, could cause us to incur substantial additional costs and to become subject to litigation and could materially adversely affect our operating results; we are subject to payment related risks; changes in accounting standards and assumptions, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial condition and results of operations; we face increased public company compliance risks and compliance risks related to our international operations; if remediation costs or hazardous substance contamination levels at certain properties for which we maintain financial responsibility exceed management's current expectations, our financial condition and results of operations could be adversely impacted. The risks described above as well as the other risks detailed in the Company's U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") reports, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2015 filed on October 29, 2015 pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We assume no obligation and expressly disclaim 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.

PRICESMART, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(UNAUDITED--AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)
		Three Months Ended November 30,
		2015				2014
Revenues:
Net warehouse club sales		$	690,831			$	636,415
Export sales			8,232				8,431
Membership income			11,466				10,115
Other income			1,402				1,060
Total revenues			711,931				656,021
Operating expenses:
Cost of goods sold:
Net warehouse club			590,183				539,028
Export			7,832				8,027
Selling, general and administrative:
Warehouse club operations			60,840				56,210
General and administrative			15,463				13,350
Pre-opening expenses			305				3,149
Loss/(gain) on disposal of assets			13				(28	)
Total operating expenses			674,636				619,736
Operating income			37,295				36,285
Other income (expense):
Interest income			178				264
Interest expense			(1,373	)			(1,174	)
Other income (expense), net			(244	)			(2,632	)
Total other income (expense)			(1,439	)			(3,542	)
Income before provision for income taxes and income (loss) of unconsolidated affiliates			35,856				32,743
Provision for income taxes			(12,130	)			(12,102	)
Income (loss) of unconsolidated affiliates			(54	)			6
Net income			23,672			$	20,647
Net income per share available for distribution:
Basic net income per share		$	0.78			$	0.68
Diluted net income per share		$	0.78			$	0.68
Shares used in per share computations:
Basic			29,890				29,791
Diluted			29,896				29,799
Dividends per share		$	--			$	--

PRICESMART, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT SHARE DATA)
		November 30,  2015 (Unaudited)				August 31, 2015
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents		$	140,006			$	157,072
Short-term restricted cash			60				61
Receivables, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $0 as of November 30, 2015 and August 31, 2015, respectively			7,691				9,662
Merchandise inventories			322,623				267,175
Deferred tax assets - current			8,229				7,849
Prepaid expenses and other current assets			28,735				22,535
Total current assets			507,344				464,354
Long-term restricted cash			2,063				1,464
Property and equipment, net			443,062				433,040
Goodwill			35,846				35,871
Deferred tax assets - long term			7,016				7,464
Other non-current assets (includes $4,208 and $4,129 as of November 30, 2015 and August 31, 2015, respectively, for the fair value of derivative instruments)			41,881				39,182
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates			10,382				10,317
Total Assets		$	1,047,594			$	991,692
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Short-term borrowings		$	1,935			$	6,606
Accounts payable			275,908				241,978
Accrued salaries and benefits			16,396				17,977
Deferred membership income			20,383				20,184
Income taxes payable			7,777				9,595
Other accrued expenses (includes $129 and $66 as of November 30, 2015 and August 31, 2015, respectively, for the fair value of foreign currency forward contracts)			23,450				23,558
Long-term debt, current portion			15,986				17,169
Deferred tax liability - current			18				30
Total current liabilities			361,853				337,097
Deferred tax liability - long-term			2,117				2,193
Long-term portion of deferred rent			7,264				6,595
Long-term income taxes payable, net of current portion			1,358				1,402
Long-term debt, net of current portion			78,437				73,365
Other long-term liabilities (includes $1,650 and $1,699 for the fair value of derivative instruments and $3,155 and $2,757 for post employment plans as of November 30, 2015 and August 31, 2015, respectively)			4,805				4,456
Total liabilities			455,834				425,108
Equity:
Common stock, $0.0001 par value, 45,000,000 shares authorized; 31,164,162 and 30,977,764 shares issued and 30,370,982 and 30,184,584 shares outstanding (net of treasury shares) as of November 30, 2015 and August 31, 2015, respectively			3				3
Additional paid-in capital			405,268				403,168
Tax benefit from stock-based compensation			10,711				10,711
Accumulated other comprehensive loss			(102,108	)			(101,512	)
Retained earnings			307,283				283,611
Less: treasury stock at cost; 793,180 shares as of November 30, 2015 and August 31, 2015			(29,397	)			(29,397	)
Total equity			591,760				566,584
Total Liabilities and Equity		$	1,047,594			$	991,692