4:57 AM
Wal-Mart profit up but same-store sales decline
Addison Ray
NEW YORK | Tue Nov 16, 2010 7:22am EST
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) posted a higher quarterly profit and raised its full-year earnings forecast, but U.S. same-store sales declined as its shoppers remain under pressure in a weak economy.
Sales at U.S. Wal-Mart stores open at least a year fell 1.3 percent, the sixth consecutive quarterly decline at the world's largest retailer.
Sales at Wal-Mart's U.S. discount stores have suffered from the company's missteps in terms of merchandise selection and promotion. In addition, high unemployment has forced Wal-Mart's lower-income customers to cut back on even some essential items or to search out lower prices at dollar stores.
Wal-Mart said profit in the third quarter ended October 31 was $3.44 billion, or 95 cents a share, compared with $3.15 billion, or 82 cents a share, a year earlier. The latest results included a tax benefit of 5 cents per share.
Net sales rose 2.6 percent to $101.2 billion.
Earnings per share, excluding the tax benefit, were in line with analysts' average forecast of 90 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Wal-Mart said it now expects fiscal 2011 earnings per share of $4.08 to $4.12, up from a previous forecast of $3.95 to $4.05, reflecting the tax benefit and an expectation for a solid operational performance in its fourth quarter.
(Reporting by Michele Gershberg and Brad Dorfman; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)
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