SAN DIEGO, Oct. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PriceSmart, Inc. (NASDAQ: PSMT) today announced its results of operations for the fourth quarter and the twelve months of fiscal year 2017 which ended on August 31, 2017.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017, net warehouse club sales increased 3.6% to $711.0 million from $686.4 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016. Total revenues for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 were $733.5 million compared to $711.1 million in the comparable period of the prior year. The Company had 39 warehouse clubs in operation as of August 2017 compared to 38 warehouse clubs in operation as of August 2016.

The Company recorded operating income during the quarter of $30.8 million, as compared to operating income of $32.8 million in the prior year. Net income was $19.8 million, or $0.64 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2017 as compared to $22.3 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016.

For the twelve months ended August 31, 2017, net warehouse club sales increased 3.2% to $2.9 billion, from $2.8 billion for the twelve months ended August 31, 2016. Total revenues for the twelve months ended August 31, 2017 increased 3.1% to $3.0 billion from $2.9 billion in the same period of the prior year. For the twelve months ended August 31, 2017, the Company recorded operating income of $136.2 million and net income of $90.7 million, or $2.98 per diluted share. During the twelve months ended August 31, 2016, the Company recorded operating income of $136.7 million and net income of $88.7 million, or $2.92 per diluted share.

The Company filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended August 31, 2017 on October 26, 2017.

PriceSmart management will host a conference call at 12:00 p.m. Eastern time (9:00a.m. Pacific time) on Friday, October 27, 2017, to discuss the financial results. Individuals interested in participating in the conference call may do so by dialing (855) 209-8211 toll free, or (412) 317-5214 for international callers and asking to join the PriceSmart, Inc. call. A digital replay will be available through November 3, 2017, following the conclusion of the call by dialing (877) 344-7529 for domestic callers, or (412) 317-0088 for international callers, and entering replay passcode 10112016.

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 40 warehouse clubs in 12 countries and one U.S. territory (seven each in Colombia and Costa Rica; 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 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 offer limited online shopping to our members in certain markets, 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; failure to grow our e-commerce business through the integration of physical and digital retail or otherwise, and the cost of our increasing e-commerce investments, may materially adversely affect our market position, net sales and financial performance; our profitability is vulnerable to cost increases; we face difficulties in the shipment of, and risks inherent in the importation of, merchandise to our warehouse clubs; we are exposed to weather and other natural disaster risks that might not be adequately compensated by insurance; negative economic conditions could adversely impact our business in various respects; our failure to maintain our brand and reputation could adversely affect our results of operations; we face the risk of exposure to product liability claims, a product recall and adverse publicity; 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 could be subject to additional tax liabilities or subject to reserves on the recoverability of tax receivables; we face the possibility of operational interruptions related to union work stoppages; we are subject to volatility in foreign currency exchange rates and limits on our ability to convert foreign currencies into U.S. dollars; we face compliance risks related to our international operations; 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 may experience difficulties implementing our new global enterprise resource planning system; any failure by us to maintain the security of the information that we hold relating to our company, members, employees and vendors, 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 disrupt our operations, 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; 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; changes in accounting standards and assumptions, projections, estimates and judgments by management related to complex accounting matters could significantly affect our financial condition and results of operations; a few of our stockholders own approximately 25.3% of our voting stock as of August 31, 2017, which may make it difficult to complete some corporate transactions without their support and may impede a change in control. 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, 2017 filed on October 26, 2017 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.

For further information, please contact John M. Heffner, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer (858) 404-8826.



                                                                               PRICESMART, INC.

                                                                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

                                                           (UNAUDITED-AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)


                                   Three Months Ended             Twelve Months Ended

                                       August 31,                      August 31,
                                       ----------                    ----------

                                                 2017                2016                                      2017 2016
                                                 ----                ----                                      ---- ----

    Revenues:

    Net warehouse club sales                          $711,011                                            $686,375       $2,910,062  $2,820,740

    Export sales                                         8,863                                              11,941           34,244      33,813

    Membership income                                   12,162                                              11,555           47,743      45,781

    Other income                                         1,466                                               1,181            4,579       4,842
                                                         -----                                               -----            -----       -----

    Total revenues                                     733,502                                             711,052        2,996,628   2,905,176
                                                       -------                                             -------        ---------   ---------

    Operating expenses:

    Cost of goods sold:

    Net warehouse club                                 607,399                                             585,183        2,487,146   2,417,366

    Export                                               8,521                                              11,461           32,606      32,260

    Selling, general and
     administrative:

    Warehouse club operations                           67,665                                              63,782          268,629     252,130

    General and administrative                          18,092                                              16,258           70,013      64,344

    Pre-opening expenses                                   855                                                 802               44       1,191

    Loss/(gain) on disposal of
     assets                                                148                                                 763            1,961       1,162
                                                           ---                                                 ---            -----       -----

    Total operating expenses                           702,680                                             678,249        2,860,399   2,768,453
                                                       -------                                             -------        ---------   ---------

    Operating income                                    30,822                                              32,803          136,229     136,723

    Other income (expense):

    Interest income                                        365                                                 527            1,809       1,307

    Interest expense                                   (1,651)                                            (1,411)         (6,777)    (5,891)

    Other income (expense), net                            394                                                 119            1,482       (899)
                                                           ---                                                 ---            -----        ----

    Total other income (expense)                         (892)                                              (765)         (3,486)    (5,483)
                                                          ----                                                ----           ------      ------

    Income before provision for
     income taxes and                                   29,930                                              32,038          132,743     131,240

    income (loss) of
     unconsolidated affiliates

    Provision for income taxes                        (10,133)                                            (9,736)        (42,018)   (42,849)

    Income (loss) of
     unconsolidated affiliates                               1                                                (30)             (1)        332
                                                           ---                                                 ---              ---         ---

    Net income                                         $19,798                                             $22,272          $90,724     $88,723
                                                       =======                                             =======          =======     =======

    Net income per share available
     for distribution:

    Basic net income per share                           $0.64                                               $0.74            $2.98       $2.92
                                                         =====                                               =====            =====       =====

    Diluted net income per share                         $0.64                                               $0.74            $2.98       $2.92
                                                         =====                                               =====            =====       =====

    Shares used in per share
     computations:

    Basic                                               30,043                                              29,956           30,020      29,928
                                                        ======                                              ======           ======      ======

    Diluted                                             30,044                                              29,961           30,023      29,933
                                                        ======                                              ======           ======      ======

    Dividends per share                                  $0.35                                               $0.35            $0.70       $0.70
                                                         =====                                               =====            =====       =====



                                                    PRICESMART, INC.

                                               CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

                                        (AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT SHARE DATA)


                                       August 31,
                                       ----------

                                             2017                                  2016
                                             ----                                  ----

    ASSETS

    Current Assets:

    Cash and cash equivalents                                             $162,434        $199,522

    Short-term restricted cash                                                 460             518

    Receivables, net of allowance for
     doubtful accounts of $7 as of
     August 31, 2017 and $7 as of
     August 31, 2016, respectively                                           6,460           7,464

    Merchandise inventories                                                310,946         282,907

    Prepaid expenses and other current
     assets                                                                 30,070          22,143
                                                                            ------          ------

    Total current assets                                                   510,370         512,554

    Long-term restricted cash                                                2,818           2,676

    Property and equipment, net                                            557,829         473,045

    Goodwill                                                                35,642          35,637

    Deferred tax assets                                                     15,412          12,258

    Other non-current assets
     (includes $2,547 and $3,224 as of
     August 31, 2017 and August 31,
     2016, respectively, for the fair
     value of derivative instruments)                                       44,678          49,798

    Investment in unconsolidated
     affiliates                                                             10,765          10,767
                                                                            ------          ------

    Total Assets                                                        $1,177,514      $1,096,735
                                                                        ==========      ==========

    LIABILITIES AND EQUITY

    Current Liabilities:

    Short-term borrowings                       $                                -        $16,534

    Accounts payable                                                       272,248         267,173

    Accrued salaries and benefits                                           19,151          19,606

    Deferred membership income                                              22,100          20,920

    Income taxes payable                                                     5,044           4,226

    Other accrued expenses (includes
     $0 and $110 as of August 31, 2017
     and August 31, 2016,
     respectively, for the fair value
     of foreign currency forward
     contracts)                                                             26,483          24,880

    Long-term debt, current portion                                         18,358          14,565
                                                                            ------          ------

    Total current liabilities                                              363,384         367,904

    Deferred tax liability                                                   1,812           1,760

    Long-term portion of deferred rent                                       8,914           8,961

    Long-term income taxes payable,
     net of current portion                                                    909             970

    Long-term debt, net of current
     portion                                                                87,939          73,542

    Other long-term liabilities
     (includes $682 and $1,514 for the
     fair value of derivative
     instruments and $5,051 and $4,013
     for post employment plans as of
     August 31, 2017 and August 31,
     2016, respectively)                                                     5,789           5,527
                                                                             -----           -----

    Total Liabilities                                                      468,747         458,664



    Equity:

    Common stock $0.0001 par value,
     45,000,000 shares authorized;
     31,275,727 and 31,237,658 shares
     issued and 30,400,742 and
     30,401,307 shares outstanding
     (net of treasury shares) as of
     August 31, 2017 and August 31,
     2016, respectively                                                          3               3

    Additional paid-in capital                                             422,762         412,369

    Tax benefit from stock-based
     compensation                                                           11,486          11,321

    Accumulated other comprehensive
     loss                                                                (110,059)      (103,951)

    Retained earnings                                                      420,499         351,060

    Less: treasury stock at cost,
     874,985 and 836,531 shares as of
     August 31, 2017 and August 31,
     2016, respectively                                                   (35,924)       (32,731)
                                                                           -------         -------

    Total Equity                                                           708,767         638,071
                                                                           -------         -------

    Total Liabilities and Equity                                        $1,177,514      $1,096,735
                                                                        ==========      ==========

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SOURCE PriceSmart, Inc.