B.J.’s Wholesale to Restate Earnings

B.J.’s Wholesale Club Inc. said it will take a $19.3-million charge and restate earnings for the first half of fiscal 1998 to 27 cents a share from 75 cents, as it adopts new accounting methods. The third-largest wholesale-club chain will begin accounting revenue from its annual membership fees over the life of the membership, typically 12 months, rather than when fees are received. The Natick, Mass.-based company hopes to meet guidelines it expects the Securities and Exchange Commission will require this year. The way companies account for membership fees has become an issue since Cendant Corp. said in April that it had uncovered possible fraud at one of its primary businesses. Cendant, formed in December by a $14-billion merger of HFS Inc. and CUC International Inc., said CUC had inflated past profit by improperly recording the costs of signing up members. B.J.’s will also adopt policies recommended by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants regarding the accounting of start-up costs. The combined effect of the changes will be to decrease earnings by 2% to 3% this year and next, the company said. BJ’s shares rose $2.06 to close at $36.31 on the NYSE.