BENTONVILLE, Ark., Feb. 3 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the four-week and fifty-two week periods ending January 28, 2005, and January 30, 2004 as follows (dollars in billions):
4 Weeks Ended 52 Weeks Ended
Percent Percent
1-28-2005 1-30-2004 Change 1-28-2005 1-30-2004 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $ 13.170 $ 11.892 10.7% $ 191.059 $ 173.579 10.1%
SAM'S CLUB 2.511 2.476 1.4% 36.952 34.376 7.5%
International 4.120 3.793 8.6% 56.803 48.071 18.2%
Total Company $ 19.801 $ 18.161 9.0% $ 284.814 $ 256.026 11.2%
Comparable sales for the periods ending January 28, 2005 and January 30, 2004, were as follows:
4 Weeks 52 Weeks
This Year Last Year This Year Last Year
Wal-Mart Stores 3.2% 5.3% 2.8% 3.8%
SAM'S CLUB -0.8% 7.9% 5.8% 5.1%
Total U.S. 2.5% 5.7% 3.3% 4.0%
Tom Schoewe, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer said, "Our January results cap off a solid performance for the year -- another year of profitable double-digit sales growth. That increase translates into more than $28 billion of incremental sales. I am so proud of what our Associates have accomplished."
For the February four-week period, we forecast comparative sales for the U.S. to be up in the 2 to 4 percent range.
Our earnings release for the fourth fiscal quarter is scheduled for Thursday, February 17, 2005, before the NYSE opens. Please note that our dial-in number has changed to 203-369-1090 and will be available for 36 hours after quarterly earnings are announced. The information from this pre- recorded phone call will also be available on our website at http://www.walmartstores.com, news, news releases, sales and summaries.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM'S CLUB locations in the United States. Internationally, the Company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The Company's securities are listed on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartfacts.com. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com.
This release contains a statement that Wal-Mart believes is a "forward- looking statement" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that Act. This forward- looking statement, which discusses our management's forecast of comparable sales for the February four-week period, appears in the second paragraph following the comparable sales table in this release. It is identified by use of the word "forecast". This forward-looking statement is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including, consumer spending patterns and debt levels, weather conditions, competitive pressures, currency exchange fluctuations, trade restrictions, and other risks. We discuss certain of these matters more fully in our filings with the SEC, including our last Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. This release should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the SEC through the date of this report. We urge you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements. As a result of these matters, including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, our actual comparable sales for the February four-week period may differ materially from forecast comparable sales discussed in the forward- looking statement. The forward-looking statement included in this release is made only as of the date of this report, and we undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
CONTACT: Investor Relations, 1-479-273-8446, or Jay Fitzsimmons, 1-479-273-6445, or Pauline Tureman, 1-479-277-9558, or media relations, Gus Whitcomb, 1-479-273-4314, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
