BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wal-Mart Stores,
Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the five- and nine-week periods
ending April 4, 2008, and April 6, 2007, respectively, as follows (dollars
in billions).
Net Sales
5 Weeks Ended Percent 9 Weeks Ended Percent
4/4/2008 4/6/2007 Change 4/4/2008 4/6/2007 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $23.213 $22.116 5.0% $41.776 $39.689 5.3%
Sam's Club 4.287 4.156 3.2% 7.650 7.315 4.6%
International 9.473 7.983 18.7% 16.735 14.045 19.2%
Total Company $36.973 $34.255 7.9% $66.161 $61.049 8.4%
Comparable store sales for the five- and nine-week periods ending April
4, 2008, and April 6, 2007, respectively, were as follows.
Five Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
4/4/2008 4/6/2007 4/4/2008 4/6/2007 4/4/2008 4/6/2007
Wal-Mart Stores 0.9% 3.4% 0.9% 3.4% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club -0.7% 7.4% 2.1% 6.8% 2.8% -0.6%
Total U.S. 0.7% 4.0% 1.1% 4.0% 0.4% 0.0%
Nine Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
4/4/2008 4/6/2007 4/4/2008 4/6/2007 4/4/2008 4/6/2007
Wal-Mart Stores 1.6% 2.1% 1.6% 2.1% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 0.8% 5.7% 3.4% 5.2% 2.6% -0.5%
Total U.S. 1.5% 2.6% 1.9% 2.6% 0.4% 0.0%
Wal-Mart Stores
In the Wal-Mart Stores U.S. segment, comparable store sales during the
five-week March period were driven by continued strength in the three
largest business units: grocery, health and wellness and entertainment,
with solid Easter sales. Food, consumables and dry grocery were strong
during the period. Cold weather negatively affected the overall performance
of apparel; however, sales of basic items, including t-shirts and licensed
apparel, were strong. Softness continued in the home unit.
"Customers continued to turn to Wal-Mart for price leadership
throughout the store, and they continued to see a better shopping
experience," said Eduardo Castro-Wright, Wal-Mart Stores U.S. president and
chief executive officer. "In addition, we benefited from better integration
of merchandising, operations and marketing.
"Our initiatives in electronics have improved customer access to
leading brands and made Wal-Mart the retailer of choice for entertainment
products," Castro-Wright added. "The U.S. stores continued to generate
triple-digit comparable sales in flat-panel TVs and GPS units, as well as
double-digit growth rates in laptop computers, video games and digital
cameras."
This year's Easter calendar change from April to March negatively
impacted the March period, when compared to last year. Wal-Mart discount
stores historically are closed on Easter Sunday. In addition, with Easter
coming much earlier this year, the traditional selling period for the
holiday was shorter.
Sam's Club
Fresh food, dry grocery and consumables led sales at Sam's Club during
the period, with strong sell-through of Easter merchandise and favorable
positions of seasonal inventories. In the general merchandise categories,
home furniture, office supplies, and video games were highlights, while
house wares and apparel continued to experience softer sales.
"As with the last sales period, our strongest categories are in the
areas most important to our core members," said Doug McMillon, president
and chief executive officer, Sam's Club. "Average ticket increased for both
Business and Advantage members."
Fuel sales impacted comparable club sales by 2.8 percent, driven by an
increase in gallons sold, combined with an increase of approximately 28
percent in the average price per gallon, compared to the same period last
year.
Sam's Clubs also were closed on Easter Sunday, resulting in one less
selling day in the March five-week period than in the same period last
year. Easter negatively impacted the March sales period by approximately
200 to 250 basis points. As a result, the April sales period will pick up
an additional selling day, compared to last year.
Wal-Mart International
"We are pleased with the overall performance of our International
markets," said Mike Duke, vice chairman responsible for Wal-Mart
International. "We had strong sales performance in key countries, including
the United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and China."
ASDA's sales were ahead of plan, driven by high traffic and the Easter
season, with the strongest performances in confectionary, fresh foods,
children's wear and video game software.
Wal-Mart Canada continued to experience increases in traffic and
average ticket, leading to a low double-digit increase over the prior year,
with sales strong in electronics. Apparel and shoes were soft, due to
adverse weather.
Wal-Mart Brazil continues to perform well, with a double-digit increase
in comparable store sales on a real basis, led by the hypermarkets and the
lower-income format Todo Dia, and driven by sales of Easter-related
products.
Improved weather in areas where Wal-Mart China is located and better
merchandise availability at Trust-Mart generated healthy customer traffic
and higher average ticket, yielding double-digit comparable sales growth in
both businesses.
Guidance
"Because of the Easter calendar change and its potential positive
impact on the April sales period, we expect comparable store sales without
fuel for the April four-week period in the United States to be between one
and three percent," said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief
financial officer. "This guidance is slightly higher than our comparable
sales guidance of the previous two months, which has been flat to two
percent.
"Inventory in Wal-Mart Stores U.S. has been well managed and has
resulted in lower markdowns, expense leverage and reduced shrink," said
Schoewe. "Therefore, we are raising our guidance for earnings per share
from continuing operations for the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 to a
range of $0.74 to $0.76. This is an increase from the previous earnings
guidance of $0.70 to $0.74 per share from continuing operations."
The April four-week period runs from April 5, 2008 through May 2, 2008.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, supercenters,
Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The
Company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and
the United Kingdom. The Company's securities are listed on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be
found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com. Online merchandise sales
are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
This release contains statements that Wal-Mart believes are
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are intended to enjoy the protection of
the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that act. These
forward-looking statements relate to our management's expectation for
comparable store sales in the United States for the April four-week
reporting period to end May 2, 2008, and our management's expectations for
earnings per share from continuing operations for the first quarter of
fiscal year 2009. These statements are identified by use of the words
"expect" and "are raising," in these statements. These forward-looking
statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors,
domestically and internationally, including general economic conditions,
the availability of consumer credit, consumer spending patterns and debt
levels, unemployment levels, fuel prices, inflation levels, weather
conditions, competitive pressures and other risks. The Company discusses
certain of these matters and other risk factors more fully in its filings
with the SEC, including the most recent annual report on Form 10-K filed
with the SEC. This release should be read in conjunction with that annual
report on Form 10-K and certain other Company filings with the SEC through
the date of this release. The Company urges you to consider all of these
risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating these
forward-looking statements made in this release and not to place undue
reliance on such statements. As a result of these and other matters,
including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other
circumstances, our actual results may differ materially from those
discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements
included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and
we undertake no obligation to update it to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
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