Wal-Mart Profits Rise On Holiday Discounts
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world’s largest retailer, said fourth-quarter profit rose more than analysts estimated after it stepped up American holiday discounts and boosted sales in China and Latin America.
Revenue gained 8.4%, and Wal-Mart rose the most since February 13 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The retailer forecast profit in the year through January 2009 that trailed analysts’ estimates by as little as 1 cent.
Wal-Mart’s sales topped $100 billion for the first time after it’s chief executive officer, H. Lee Scott, slashed prices on groceries and household items for the holidays. Cash-strapped consumers concerned with higher gasoline prices and job losses have boosted sales at discounters.
“Nobody gets rich selling groceries, unfortunately, but I do think it’s a great way to drive traffic,” a senior portfolio manager at Huntington Asset Advisors in Cincinnati, Peter Sorrentino, said in a Bloomberg Television interview.
