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Non-Tech : Wal-Mart -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mrc who wrote (345)	2/25/1998 11:23:00 AM
From: Ken Turetzky	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1166

Wal-Mart Net Rose 17% in Quarter, Fueling Optimism ---- By Louise Lee Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal via Dow Jones Wal-Mart Stores Inc., boosted by strong post-Christmas sales, reported a 17% jump in fiscal fourth-quarter profit, topping analysts' estimates and fueling optimism about its 1998 prospects. David D. Glass, the Bentonville, Ark., discount retailer's chief executive officer, said he is "comfortable" with First Call analysts' current earnings projection of about $1.75 a share for the fiscal year ending in January 1999. Such results would be an increase of about 12% from earnings of $1.56 a share for the year earlier. David Poneman, analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., is even more optimistic, estimating that Wal-Mart's 1998 earnings will increase by over 14% on 12% higher sales. Such advances will be driven largely by expansion of Wal-Mart's supercenter division and better gross margins, he said. The most-recent quarter was boosted by strong sales of clearance goods and a decline in returns after Christmas. "A lot of the things that hurt retailers in January did not hurt Wal-Mart," said Linda Kristiansen, analyst at Schroder & Co. "They've got good momentum going into the current year." In New York Stock Exchange composite trading, Wal-Mart shares rose 68.75 cents to $46.875. For the quarter ended Jan. 31, Wal-Mart's net income rose to $1.29 billion, or 57 cents per basic and diluted share, compared with net of $1.1 billion, or 48 cents per basic and diluted share, a year earlier. Analysts had expected 55 cents a share. Sales rose 15% to $35.39 billion from $30.86 billion a year earlier. "All the things we've done began to pay dividends this year," said Mr. Glass, citing the company's recent efforts in building up its supercenter division and international operations. "We've got tremendous opportunity to continue to produce these kinds of results." Future growth overseas will likely come from acquisitions, especially in Europe, a mature market where "you can't build a chain from the ground up," said Mr. Glass. Domestically, the company is trying to improve merchandise displays and tailor goods to individual markets, in addition to continuing to open stores, he said. Analysts said they were most impressed with Wal-Mart's tighter inventory management, which helps the company cut interest expenses and debt. Inventory at the end of the quarter was down 3% from a year earlier. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 6.9% from a year earlier. Wal-Mart said operating profit at its core discount unit rose 14% to $2.15 billion. Same-store sales at the unit rose 7.1%. At the Sam's division, operating profit jumped 12% to $307 million, while same-store sales rose 6.1%. The company's international division posted operating profit of $177 million, compared with $65 million a year earlier. Those results were largely driven by double-digit same-store gains in Canada and improvement in Mexico, Wal-Mart said.

To: mrc who wrote (345)	3/5/1998 10:43:00 AM
From: Ken Turetzky	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1166

WMT is a great hedge against the tech market, isn't it? Pushing 50 today. Feb. Retail Sales Summary: AEOS KM NMG JCP S WMT Dow Jones News Service via Dow Jones The following companies are among those reporting February retail sales Thursday: Same- Total Store American Eagle Outfitters AEOS 49.9% 40.3% K Mart Corp. KM 3.5% 5.6% Neiman Marcus Group Inc. NMG 5.6% 3.4% Penney (J.C.) Inc. JCP 5.0% 1.1% Sears, Roebuck & Co. S 6.5% 4.7% Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT 18.3% 9.8% Figures in parentheses indicate a decrease in sales from the year-earlier period. N.A. = not available. (END) DOW JONES NEWS 03-05-98 Wal-Mart Reports February Sales PR News Wire via Dow Jones BENTONVILLE, Ark., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), reported net sales for the four week period ended Friday, February 27, 1998, of $9,097,000,000, an increase of 18.3% from the $7,692,000,000 in the similar period in the prior year. Sam's Clubs sales for the four week period were $1,541,000,000, up 6.9% from the $1,442,000,000 in the similar prior year period. Comparable sales were as follows: 4 Weeks This Year Last Year Wal-Mart 11.0% 6.8% Sam's Club 5.5% 6.6% Total Company 9.8% 6.7% As of February 28, 1998, the Company had 1,917 Wal-Mart stores, 445 Supercenters, and 443 Sam's Clubs in the United States. Internationally, the Company operated units in Argentina (9), Brazil (8), Canada (144), Germany (21), Mexico (405), and Puerto Rico (14), and under a joint venture agreement in China (3). Wal-Mart employs more than 720,000 Associates in the U.S. and 105,000 internationally. Its securities are listed on the New York and Pacific stock exchanges. /CONTACT: Investor Relations: 501-273-8446, or Jay Fitzsimmons, 501-273-6445, or Steve Hunter, 501-277-9558, or Media: Jay Allen, 501-273-4314, all of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc./ 07:55 EST