Thursday May 8, 12:41 PM
Wal-Mart April same-store sales excl. fuel up 3.2%, ahead of Wall St. view
NEW YORK (Thomson Financial) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Thursday said its total U.S. same-store sales rose 3.2% in April, excluding fuel. The mean estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters (TRI.TO
- news) was for an increase of 2.1% for the month.
Including fuel, same-store sales rose 3.8% in April, the company said.
Total sales increased 9.8% for the four-week period to $29.18 billion from $26.57 billion in the comparable period a year earlier.
The same-store sales broke down to a 2.6% increase for the namesake stores and a 6.6% jump for Sam's Club for the month.
The Bentonville, Ark., retailing giant, a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, said it expects sales of about $94 billion for the April quarter. Wall Street's current consensus estimate is for sales of $92.44 billion for the company's fiscal first quarter.
The company also said it anticipates U.S. same-store sales, excluding fuel, to come in between flat and up 2% in May. It noted that, at this time, it's difficult to quantify what impact the government's economic stimulus plan will have on performance.
'We continued to have solid execution in the stores at a time when customers rely on Wal-Mart for price leadership and exceptional value on everything,' said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. president and chief executive officer. 'The economy continues to get tougher and the 'paycheck cycle' is more pronounced for customers than in past months. As money gets tighter for them toward the end of the month, sales drop more than we have seen in the past.'
The stock finished Wednesday at $56.83.
Michael Baron
mb
COPYRIGHT
Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.
The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.
NNNN
|
Send Article by Email
