The biggest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart Stores delivered near flat third quarter of 2014 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations, from the prior year quarter.
Although diluted earnings per share from continuing operations totalled $1.15, within guidance of $1.10 to $1.20, it was nearly the same at $1.14 over the third quarter of 2013.
Consolidated net sales increased $3.2 billion, or 2.8 per cent from a year ago period to $118.1 billion, while international net sales grew 1.7 per cent to $33.7 billion.
Walmart said the quarter included the negative impact of around $396 million from currency exchange rate fluctuations.
“On a constant currency basis, net sales would have risen 3.1 per cent to $118.5 billion,” it added.
In the quarter under review, ecommerce sales globally surged around 21 percent on a constant currency basis from the third quarter of 2013.
"The highlights for the quarter include the positive comparable in Walmart US, including the 21 percent increase in ecommerce sales globally,” Doug McMillon, CEO at Wal-Mart Stores said.
However, McMillon stressed the need to strengthen Walmart's sales growth and improve the customer experience, both in stores and online.
Consolidated net income attributable to Walmart was $3.7 billion, down 0.7 per cent from the third quarter of 2013.
Additionally, the retailer’s effective tax rate was 31.8 per cent, below the previous guidance of around 34 per cent, due to certain discrete tax matters.
While it benefited in the reporting quarter from a lower than anticipated tax rate, the benefit was offset by a number of discrete charges.
“Operating expenses were impacted by an organizational restructuring in the UK and the Hurricane Odile losses in Mexico,” the retailer added.
Walmart forecast fourth quarter of 2014 earnings per share between $1.46 and $1.56, which includes a negative impact of around $0.03 per share from closure of underperforming Japanese stores.
"We're investing in key areas, including wages in our US stores and in e-commerce and mobile capabilities. We continue to see opportunities to improve our business," Doug McMillon informed.
Return on investment (ROI) for the trailing 12-months ended October 31, 2014 stood at 16.4 per cent, compared to 17.5 per cent for the prior comparable period.
“The decrease in ROI was primarily due to lower operating income, as well as ongoing capital investment in store growth and e-commerce initiatives,” Walmart explained.
For the nine months ended October 31, 2014, free cash nearly doubled to $7.2 billion from $3.8 billion in the same period of prior year.
The retailer paid $1.5 billion in dividends and repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares for $82 million in the third quarter of 2014. (AR)