Costco sales, profits rise

Costco Wholesale Corp. said this week its Q4 sales rose 15.2 percent to $70.76 billion, from $61.44 billion a year ago. Earnings of $1.87 billion ($4.20 per diluted share) were up from to $1.67 billion ($3.76) in the comparable period last year. For the full fiscal year, sales rose 16 percent to $222.73 billion, compared with $192.05 billion the previous year. Earnings rose to $5.84 billion from $5.01 billion.