Walmart shares fall as the US retailer sees slowdown in sales
WALMART, the American retail giant and owner of Asda, reported a six per cent rise in profits to $3.8bn in the second quarter of the year, despite grappling with tough economic conditions in its home market and overseas.
The company said like-for-like sales at US stores rose 2.2 per cent in the three months to the end of June, slower than the 2.6 per cent gain in the first quarter as gas prices, higher food costs and the job market prevented consumers from spashing out.
At Asda, second quarter sales also slowed to 0.7 per cent compared with a 2.2 per cent rise in the previous quarter. Overall, half year sales rose 1.5 per cent.
Asda finance director Rob McWilliam described this as a “solid performance in what has been a very tough market and a slowing market.”
Walmart raised its profit forecast for the year after net income beat expectations. But global revenue of $114.3bn, up 4.5 per cent, fell short of Wall Street forecasts, causing shares to slide three per cent yesterday.