Wal-Mart comes up short of expectations

By Staff -- Home Textiles Today, 11/17/2003 12:00:00 AM

BENTONVILLE, AR —

Helped by a rolling turnaround in its Sam's Warehouse Club business, as well as continued rapid expansion abroad, third-quarter profits at Wal-Mart Stores, advanced by 12.9 percent, to $2.0 billion from $1.8 billion.

But it wasn't good enough for demanding Wall Street investors, who'd been expecting slightly more than the 46 cents a share profit the retailer turned in. Rattled by the rare earnings disappointment from the world's largest retailer, — and further concerned when the retailer said in a conference call it's planning cautiously for Christmas — investors knocked the stock down by $2.35 a share, or 4.1 percent in value, to $55.61.

And it didn't stop there. When one of the world's largest and strongest companies starts to sneeze, Wall Street runs for the Kleenex, and in the ensuing rush last Thursday, Nov. 13, the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped by 28 points, or 0.3 percent in heavy mid-afternoon trading.

Wal-Mart sales expanded by 13.1 percent during the quarter, to $62.5 billion from $55.2 billion last year, and same-store sales grew by 6.1 percent.

Extending a recent turnaround, Sam's Club operating profits rose by 12.5 percent, to $270 million, even faster than the rate of sales growth. Sales improved by 11.2 percent, to $8.6 billion from $7.7 billion. Same-store warehouse-club sales jumped up by 8.0 percent.

Sales in the core U.S. Wal-Mart Stores segment grew by 12.8 percent, to $42.4 billion from $37.6 billion, while comps increased by 5.7. Operating profits rose by 10.9 percent, to $3.0 billion from $2.7 billion last year.

International remained the fastest-growing of the company's business units, with sales climbing higher by 15.7 percent, to $11.5 billion from $10.0 billion last year. Operating profits from the rapidly expanding international segment shot up by more than a fourth, rising by 28.5 percent, to $5643 million from $439 million the prior year.

Conserving its cash and planning cautiously, Wal-Mart kept its stockpiles in check during the second quarter. Inventories rose just 8.8 percent, to $31.3 billion, well behind the 12.8 percent increase in sales.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Third quarter segment results