BENTONVILLE, Ark., Nov. 8 -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) reported net sales for the four-week and 39-week periods ending Nov. 2, 2007, and Nov. 3, 2006, respectively, as follows (dollars in billions):
Net Sales
4 Weeks Ended Percent 39 Weeks Ended Percent
11/2/2007 11/3/2006 Change 11/2/2007 11/3/2006 Change
Wal-Mart Stores $17.438 $16.602 5.0% $172.182 $162.212 6.1%
Sam's Club 3.296 3.129 5.3% 32.540 30.466 6.8%
International 7.186 6.029 19.2% 65.091 55.666 16.9%
Total Company $27.920 $25.760 8.4% $269.813 $248.344 8.6%
Comparable store sales for the four-week and 39-week periods ending Nov. 2, 2007, and Nov. 3, 2006, respectively, were as follows:
Four Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
11/2/2007 11/3/2006 11/2/2007 11/3/2006 11/2/2007 11/3/2006
Wal-Mart Stores 0.0% -0.3% 0.0% -0.3% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 2.7% 1.6% 4.2% -0.4% 1.5% -2.0%
Total U.S. 0.4% -0.1% 0.7% -0.4% 0.3% -0.3%
Thirty-nine Weeks Comparable Store Sales
Without Fuel With Fuel Fuel Impact
11/2/2007 11/3/2006 11/2/2007 11/3/2006 11/2/2007 11/3/2006
Wal-Mart Stores 0.7% 2.2% 0.7% 2.2% 0.0% 0.0%
Sam's Club 4.8% 3.0% 4.8% 2.9% 0.0% -0.1%
Total U.S. 1.4% 2.3% 1.4% 2.3% 0.0% 0.0%
The Company reports net sales monthly, based upon the 4-5-4 retail calendar. For the earnings release, the Company reports sales based upon the calendar months within the quarter and the fiscal year. Total net sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008 ended October 31, 2007 were approximately $91 billion.
Wal-Mart Stores
Continued price leadership initiatives drove strong comparable store sales in grocery and pharmacy during the October four-week period. Halloween sales were solid across all departments. Customers responded to the integrated marketing programs, in-store product presentations and consistent communications about Halloween product offerings. Seasonal categories related to cold weather including those in apparel, home and hardlines were soft.
Wal-Mart U.S. has a healthy inventory position going into the holiday season, and markdowns as a percentage of sales were lower than plan for the third quarter.
As part of the commitment to saving people money, Wal-Mart kicked off the Christmas season this year with "black Friday" prices on five top gift ideas. Similar promotional activities will continue into December.
Sam's Club
Sam's Club sales for the October period included strengths in fresh food, grocery, video games and office supplies. Halloween seasonal performance was an additional positive for the period. Increases in average ticket and small business traffic drove comparable club sales performance. In addition to fuel, price inflation in dairy products continues to be a factor.
The clubs have now transitioned into holiday gift giving, entertaining and decor, with the Sam's Club holiday gifts catalog reaching many members during the last week of October.
International
During the October period, the Company's operations in the United Kingdom, Brazil and China continued their recent positive performance. Sales throughout Brazil continue to be driven by a stronger price position, in-stock improvement and a recovery of disposable income. Macroeconomic factors contributed to a continued slowdown in sales in Mexico.
Guidance
The Company expects the comparable store sales of its U.S. operations for the November four-week reporting period to be between flat and two percent, said Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and chief financial officer. The November four-week period runs from Nov. 3 through Nov. 30, 2007.
As previously noted, the Company reports net sales and comparable store sales consistent with the National Retail Federation (NRF) calendar. The NRF calendar included 53 weeks for the most recently completed year, but includes only 52 weeks this year. The weekly sales information for the four-week and 39-week periods ended Nov. 3, 2006 reported in this release match the comparable weeks in the retail calendar for the current fiscal year. However, these four-week and 39-week comparable store sales periods reported for last year ended on Oct. 27, 2006, one week earlier.
The Company has posted on its Web site, http://www.walmartstores.com/investors, a "reclassification" document showing prior year comparable store sales re-grouped to match the comparable weeks for the current reporting calendar. The reclassified total U.S. comparable store sales for the November 2006 four-week period ending Dec. 1, 2006 is -0.5 percent, excluding the impact of fuel.
The Company's earnings release for the third quarter of fiscal year 2008 is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007 before the New York Stock Exchange opens. The dial-in number for the related pre-recorded phone call is 203-369-1090 and that call will be available for two weeks after quarterly earnings are announced. The information from this pre-recorded phone call also will be available on the Company's Web site at http://www.walmartstores.com/investors.
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, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom. The Company's securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting http://www.walmartstores.com. Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.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 is intended to enjoy the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements provided by that act. That forward-looking statement relates to our management's expectation for comparable store sales for the November four-week reporting period to end November 30, 2007. That statement is identified by use of the word "expects," in the statement. That forward-looking statement is subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, domestically and internationally, including consumer spending patterns and debt levels, unemployment levels, fuel prices, inflation levels, weather conditions, competitive pressures 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. This release should be read in conjunction with that Annual Report on Form 10-K and certain other Company filings with the SEC through the date of this release. The Company urges you to consider all of these risks, uncertainties and other factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statement made in this release and not to place undue reliance on such statement. As a result of these and other matters, including changes in facts, assumptions not being realized or other circumstances, our actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statement. The forward-looking statement included in this release is made only as of the date of this release, and we undertake no obligation to update it to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
SOURCE Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
-0- 11/08/2007
/CONTACT: Investor Relations, +1-479-273-8466, Carol Schumacher
+1-479-277-1498, or Anthony Clark, +1-479-277-9558, or Media Relations, John
Simley, 1-800-331-0085, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc./
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/Web site: http://www.walmartstores.com
http://www.samsclub.com /
(WMT)
CO: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
ST: Arkansas
IN: REA SUP
SU: SLS
SH-AA
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6392 11/08/2007 07:40 EST http://www.prnewswire.com
