BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 5 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the five-week and 35-week periods ending September 29, 2006, and September 30, 2005, respectively, as follows (dollars in billions):
5 Weeks Ended 35 Weeks Ended
Percent Percent
9-29-2006 9-30-2005 Change 9-29-2006 9-30-2005 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $20.091 $18.618 7.9% $145.453 $134.160 8.4%
Sam's Club 3.836 3.789 1.2% 27.322 26.014 5.0%
International 7.282 5.517 32.0% 49.337 37.891 30.2%
Total Company $31.209 $27.924 11.8% $222.112 $198.065 12.1%
Comparable sales for the periods ending September 29, 2006, and September 30, 2005, were as follows:
5 Weeks Ended 35 Weeks Ended
9-29-2006 9-30-2005 9-29-2006 9-30-2005
Wal-Mart Stores 1.3% 2.9% 2.4% 3.4%
Sam's Club 1.1% 6.4% 3.0% 3.5%
Total U.S. 1.3% 3.4% 2.5% 3.4%
The net sales for the Company's International segment for the five-week and 35-week periods ending September 29, 2006, and September 30, 2005, do not include the sales of the discontinued operations in Germany and South Korea. After receiving Korea Fair Trade Commission approval on September 27, 2006, Shinsegae Co., Ltd. and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. concluded the sale of Wal-Mart's interest in Wal-Mart Korea to Shinsegae on September 28.
The 32.0% increase for the five-week period and the 30.2% increase for the 35-week period in International's net sales include sales from the consolidation of Seiyu and Wal-Mart Central America and the acquisition in Southern Brazil. These entities added 17.7 and 18.1 percentage points to the net sales increases in International for the five-week and 35-week periods, respectively.
"Consumers continued to rely on Wal-Mart for food and consumables during September," said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer. "Throughout Wal-Mart Stores and Sam's Clubs, the pharmacy business was strong again, as it has been all year.
"Our apparel sales did not meet our expectations for the month. We're pleased, however, to see early response to seasonal merchandise for fall and the holidays," Schoewe added. "We are optimistic about holiday-related merchandise like toys and electronics."
According to Schoewe, stores and clubs this year were negatively affected by comparisons to last September's comparable sales numbers from the hurricanes.
The estimate for the comparable sales in the United States for the October four-week period is 2 to 4 percent.
"Based on the results of the first two months, we estimate that the earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2007 will be within our previously stated guidance of $0.59 to $0.63," Schoewe said.
Comparable sales that are presented in this release exclude the impact of fuel sales in the Company's Sam's Club segment. Fuel sales impacted the Sam's Club and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the five-week period ending September 29, 2006, by (1.7) and (0.3) percentage points, respectively, and impacted the Sam's Club comparable sales figures for the 35-week period by 0.3 percentage points. Fuel sales had no impact on the total U.S. comparable sales figures for the 35-week period. Including the impact of fuel sales, the Sam's Club and total U.S. comparable sales figures for the five-week period ending September 29, 2006, would have been -0.6% and 1.0% respectively, and the Sam's Club comparable sales figures for the 35-week period would have been 3.3%.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart discount stores, supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and Sam's Club locations in the United States. The Company operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. The Company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca, formerly the Pacific Stock Exchange, 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 statements that Wal-Mart believes are "forward-looking statements" 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. These forward-looking statements discuss our management's forecast of comparable sales for the October four-week period and its estimate of Wal-Mart's earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal year 2007. Each of these statements is identified by use of the word "estimate" in the statement. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including consumer spending patterns and debt levels, fuel prices, weather conditions, competitive pressures, currency exchange fluctuations, trade restrictions, and other risks. We discuss certain of these matters and other risk factors 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 certain other filings with the SEC through the date of this release. We urge you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating these forward-looking statements. As a result of these and other matters, including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, our actual comparable sales for the October four-week period and our actual earnings per share for the quarter ending October 31, 2006, may differ materially from the forecasts discussed in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this report, and we undertake no obligation to update either of the forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
10/05/2006
CONTACT: Investor Relations: +1-479-273-8446, or
Carol Schumacher, +1-479-277-1498, or
Pauline Tureman, +1-479-277-9558, or
Media Relations: John Simley, 1-800-331-0085,
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