EARNINGS

* Costco Wholesale Corp. posted a 22% increase in its fiscal fourth- quarter profit from operations to $183.2 million, or 79 cents a share, from the like period of ’98. The results for the three months ended Aug. 29 beat forecasts by 3 cents, driven by higher sales of low-price PCs and by food and household goods. Revenue jumped 14% to $8.81 billion; sales at stores open at least a year climbed 12%.