Wal-Mart Inc posts decent earnings in the 4th Quarter of 2011
World’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, concluded the biggest quarter of its fiscal year with a mixed picture.
Wal-Mart (WMT, Fortune 500) maintained that revenue from operations in the fiscal fourth quarter, including the year-end holidays, rose to $1.51. It had estimated fourth-quarter earnings of $1.42 to $1.48 per share from continuing operations.
Excluding the benefit, the retailer earned a $1.44 per share in the quarter, up from $1.34 per share a year ago.
Total sales rose 4.5% to $120.9 billion, excluding new acquisitions of stores in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Sales at Wal-Mart’s U.S. stores open a year or more climbed 1.5%, the second straight quarter of increased comparable store sales.
But the per-share earnings and total sales were below the consensus estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. And net income fell 12% on a year-over-year basis due to a large one-time gain the year before.
Wal-Mart was cautious about its outlook for the first quarter and new fiscal year, citing such concerns as higher gas prices and the global economic crunch.
The company projects that its first-quarter diluted earnings per share will be between $1.01 and $1.06, compared to the year-ago figure of 98 cents.
For the next full year, the company is forecasting earnings per share in the range of $4.72 to $4.92, up from $4.54 for the year that just ended.
Source – CNNMoney.
RESOURCE CENTER
- Looking for a New Investment other than Stocks? Give P2P Lending a Try!
- Compare Mortgage Rates
- FREE Credit Score!
- Get the Best Car Insurance Rate
- Best Savings Account
- Join Personal Capital Now for Free Financial Tools!
