Wal-Mart quarterly profit drops 7.7%
2009-02-17

Category Earnings Nations Nicaragua El Salvador India Honduras Argentina Brazil Mexico Canada Category Regions Regions Central America Asia South America Latin America North America Pacific Rim Company Wal-Mart Source (AFP)

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, reported Tuesday a 7.7 percent drop in profit in its fourth quarter but on slightly higher sales despite recession that has dampened consumer spending.

Net income by the US discount titan fell to 3.79 billion dollars in the three months ended January 31 from 4.01 billion dollars a year earlier, the company said.

Excluding exceptional expenditures, the company said it made a profit of 96 cents per share, below analysts' expectations of 99 cents. Wal-Mart had lowered its forecast in early January to 91-94 cents.

Net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009 were 107.99 billion dollars, an increase of 1.7 percent from 106.20 billion dollars in the previous fourth quarter.

Officials of Wal-Mart said they were satisfied by the profit, coming on the back of robust sales despite a sharp global economic slowdown.

"Wal-Mart recorded the strongest sales result in its history in the fourth quarter, with 108 billion dollars in sales," said Mike Duke, Wal-Mart chief executive.

"Our performance relative to competitors was exceptionally strong in the fourth quarter and throughout the year. We expect this momentum to continue," Duke said.

Wal-Mart's net income for the whole year rose five percent to 13.4 billion dollars from 12.73 billion dollars the previous period.

Turnover also rose 7.2 percent to 401.24 billion dollars.

"We finished the year with a strong balance sheet," Duke said, highlighting the company's "strong price leadership."

At a time when companies are laying off workers to cope with tough times, Wal-Mart said it created about 63,000 jobs worldwide this year, including more than 33,000 in the United States.

Aside from the United States, its overseas operations are in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Britain.

Wal-Mart is the biggest private employer in the United States. It has more than 1.4 million workers at home and more than two million globally.

The company expects earnings per share of 72-77 cents for its first quarter.

"Our guidance reflects the strength of our underlying business and global economic conditions," said Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart chief financial officer.

Wal-Mart's stock rose 3.55 percent to 48.18 dollars in early trading Tuesday.