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Wal-Mart Trims Outlook After Soft Sales Report

Wal-Mart Stores yesterday reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales for December and reduced its outlook for the fourth quarter.

BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Wal-Mart Stores here yesterday reported weaker-than-expected same-store sales for December and reduced its outlook for the fourth quarter. For the five-week period that ended Jan. 2, total U.S. comparable-store sales were up 1.7%, excluding fuel, reflecting a 1.9% gain in the Wal-Mart U.S. division and a 0.1% gain at Sam’s Club. Analysts had expected a gain of about 2.8%.

Wal-Mart said its comps were negatively impacted “by the difficult economy and severe winter weather in some regions,” which resulted in temporary store closures at 40 locations in the week before Christmas. The grocery and health and wellness categories were the “primary drivers” in December at the Wal-Mart U.S. division, with comps up in the mid-single-digits, the company said.

As a result of the sales softness, as well as the previously announced charge of 6 cents per share for the proposed settlement of several labor lawsuits and a negative impact of another 6 cents per share for adverse currency exchange rates, Wal-Mart trimmed its outlook for fourth-quarter profitability. It now expects net income from continuing operations to be between 91 cents and 94 cents per share, vs. previous expectations of between $1.03 and $1.07.

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