Bentonville, AR, Feb. 19--Wal-Mart Stores’ fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 8.5% amid steady sales growth.
The world's largest retailer Thursday reported net income of $2.72 billion, or 63 cents a share, for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with $2.51 billion, or 57 cents a share, a year earlier.
Wal-Mart said new tax legislation in Germany resulted in a re-evaluation of the company's deferred tax asset for recoverability. As a result, the company said it booked a valuation allowance for $150 million that reduced earnings in the latest quarter by three cents a share.
The latest results matched the company's revised Feb. 5 earnings guidance, which took into account the tax-law change in Germany.
Sales increased 12% to $74.49 billion from $66.4 billion, lifted by solid gains across all of the company's divisions.
Same-store sales, or sales at stores open more than a year, rose 4.8%.
At the Wal-Mart division, operating profit--or profit before interest, unallocated corporate expenses and income taxes--rose 8.3% to $3.88 billion. Net sales increased 11% to $50.65 billion, while same-store sales rose 4.4% for the quarter.
Net sales at warehouse chain Sam's Club's were up 9.5% to $9.56 billion, while same-store sales increased 6.7%. Sales at the retailer's international division climbed 17% to $14.29 billion.
For the full fiscal year, which ended Jan. 31, Wal-Mart's net income climbed 14% to $9.05 billion, or $2.07 a share, compared with $7.96 billion, or $1.79 a share. Sales jumped 12% to $256.33 billion from $229.62 billion.
