Costco Q1 profit edges up

Issaquah, Wash. A strong turnaround in a key sales figure and rising revenue despite lower gasoline prices helped Costco Wholesale Corp. post a slight increase in its fiscal first-quarter profit on Thursday.

The warehouse club operator earned $266 million for the three months ended Nov. 22, on par with Wall Street expectations. Sales rose 6% to $17.3 billion from $16.4 billion as Costco made more money from its membership fees and net sales increased to $16.92 billion from $16.04 billion.