Warehouse club operator BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc. (BJ) reported a 0.1% drop in comparable-store sales for March. Calendar shift in the timing of Easter positively impacted comparable club sales by about 2.0%.
The Natick, Massachusetts-based company's comparable club sales for March decreased 0.1%. Comparable sales for the month were offset by the negative impact from sales of gasoline of about 8.6%. Excluding gasoline sales, merchandise comparable club sales increased by 8.5% in March.
In the prior-year period, the company reported a comparable club sales increase of 6.0%, including a positive impact from gasoline sales of 3.4%.
Net sales for March rose 1.7% to $870.27 million from $855.85 million in the previous year period.
Excluding sales of gasoline, traffic increased by about 7%, reflecting a positive impact of approximately 2% from the extra day of sales, compared with last year.
Sales of food increased approximately 11% and general merchandise sales increased about 4%.
For the quarter-to-date period, comparable club sales rose 0.2%, including a negative impact from sales of gasoline of 8.2%. Excluding the negative impact of gasoline sales, merchandise comparable club sales increased 8.4%.
Net sales for the period increased 2.0% to $1.54 billion from $1.51 billion in the year-ago period.
BJ is currently trading at $32.58, down $1.48 or 4.35%, on a volume of 1.80 million shares on the NYSE.
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