BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings Inc. reported modest growth in third quarter sales and net income led by membership growth, traffic and margin improvement.
The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based membership-only warehouse club chain said sales in the 13 weeks ended October 28 grew 2.8% to $4.82 billion from $4.69 billion the year before, with net income rising 0.4% to $130.5 million from $129.9 million.
Comparable club sales, excluding fuel, remained approximately flat year-over-year, it said, while digitally enabled comparable sales growth was 16.0% year-over-year.
Membership fee income increased by 6.6% year-over-year to $106.1 million, and the merchandise gross margin rate increased by 30 basis points from the year before.
“During the third quarter, we posted accelerating membership growth, robust traffic gains and continued increases in market share. These gains continue to reinforce the underlying strength of our business and we remain confident in the long-term growth prospects of our company,” said Bob Eddy, chairman and chief executive.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects comparable club sales, excluding the impact of gasoline sales, to range from a 2% decrease to a 1% increase year-over-year in the fourth quarter, and to increase by 1.0% to 1.8% year-over-year for the full year.
The outlook for 2023 GAAP and adjusted EPS remains unchanged in the $3.80 to $3.92 range, it said.
Shares are down 4.8% in pre-market trading.