LITTLE ROCK — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. on Thursday reported an 8.6 percent increase in fiscal fourth-quarter profit but cautioned that shoppers are pressured by high gasoline prices and the recent payroll tax increase, which could cut into future sales.
The Bentonville-based retailer reported net income of $5.6 billion, up from $5.16 billion for the corresponding period a year ago.
Earnings per share rose to $1.67, up from $1.51. A survey of analysts by FactSet Research Systems Inc. projected earnings of $1.57 a share.
Revenue of $127.9 billion topped the year-ago total of $123.2 billion.
FactSet’s survey had projected $127.8 billion.
“Wal-Mart topped off a really good year with a solid fourth quarter and I’m proud of what we accomplished as a team,” Mike Duke, the president and chief executive officer, said in the company’s earnings release.
Wal-Mart’s board of directors approved an annual cash dividend for the current fiscal year of $1.88 a share, an 18 percent increase over the dividend paid for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 2012.
For the fourth quarter, U.S. stores open at least a year recorded a 1 percent increase in sales. Same-store sales, also known as comparable-store sales, exclude the effect of stores opened or closed during the period and are a key measure of success in retailing.
On a conference call, Charles Holley, the chief financial officer, noted that the company’s earnings came in above its original guidance. And the firm’s free cash flow allows “abundant” money for acquisitions, dividends and share repurchases, he said.
Bill Simon, Wal-Mart U.S. president and chief executive officer, said on the conference call that delays in tax refunds, which resulted from a late change in the tax law, cut into January sales.
Asked what the company’s biggest financial concerns were, Simon said that “jobs are still on the top of the list,” followed by taxes and gasoline prices.
In a research note, Mark Miller, analyst with William Blair & Co. LLC, said that Wal-Mart’s earnings-per share figure benefited from a lower tax rate, accounting for 11 cents a share, and an investment gain of 1 cent per share. That put the underlying operating earnings at $1.55 a share, slightly below Blair’s estimate of $1.58 and analysts’ consensus estimate of $1.57.
For the full fiscal year, Wal-Mart reported $466.1 billion in sales, up 5 percent from the previous year.
Income from continuing operations totaled $17 billion, up 7.8 percent year over last year.
Holley said the company expects earnings per share for the current quarter to be $1.11 to $1.16, compared with $1.09 a year ago.
For the full year, he said, earnings per share are expected to range from $5.20 to $5.40 a share, which would include an increase in costs of 9 cents a share for investment in its e-commerce operation.
Duke said in a recorded earnings call that “Wal-Mart U.S. is as strong as it has ever been, and we continue to build on that position.”
Wal-Mart’s stock closed Thursday at $70.26, up $1.05, or 1.5 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has traded between $57.18 and $77.60 in the past year.
Business, Pages 25 on 02/22/2013