Fears over US consumer spending were raised today after retailing giant Wal-Mart reported weaker than expected sales.
The company, which is the world’s largest retailer, reported a 22% rise in its fiscal fourth-quarter profit, but sales at stores open at least 12 months disappointed the market.
Quarterly sales fell to $113.65 billion - slightly below the $114.56 billion expected by most analysts.
Meanwhile, net profit rose to $4.63 billion from $3.8 billion a year earlier. Shares in the company lost nearly 2% when trading began in New York as the results failed to beat analysts’ expectations.
Net sales for the full year grew to $405 billion from $401 billion the previous year, while group same-store sales in the US fell 1.6% in the three months to January.
Overall sales, including its overseas businesses, grew 4.6% to $112.8 billion.
Mike Duke, Wal-Mart president and chief executive, commented: “We expect continued strong growth from International this fiscal year.
“US sales will be more challenging in the first quarter, as Wal-Mart US cycles through strong year-over-year comparisons and deflation. We remain focused on growing top line sales, and expect improvement in the United States as the year progresses,” he added.
Last month, the company announced it was laying off more than 11,000 employees at its Sam’s Club division in the US.
Its Sam’s Club warehouse chain employs more than 100,000 staff across 600 stores and the cuts represent around a tenth of its workforce.
Meanwhile, latest official figures show that Wal-Mart has retained the top spot as the world‘s largest retailer. France’s Carrefour remains in second place, while German retailer Metro knocked UK giant, Tesco, off the third spot.
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