Wal-Mart April Sales Up 5%

Wal-Mart said April same-store sales increased 5%, and the retailer said it will no longer report monthly sales data.

Author:: Robert Holmes
Publish date:: May 7, 2009 8:56 AM EDT

Updated from 8:41 a.m. EDT

Wal-Mart

reported better-than-expected comparable store sales for April, and the company said it would no longer report sales on a monthly basis.

The world's largest retailer said same-store sales in April rose 5% thanks to Easter holiday shift, compared to expectations of a 2.9% increase. Sales at Wal-Mart's U.S. stores rose 5.9% during the April period.

Wal-Mart said the 13-week comparable result was 3.6%, exceeding the retailer's expectations for the period, Wal-Mart said.

Shares were up 4.6% in the premarket session.

Tom Schoewe, executive vice president and CFO for Wal-Mart said that the retailer "will no longer report monthly sales. We will provide comparable-store sales results on a 13-week basis, along with guidance for the upcoming 13-week period."

At the company's Sam's Club stores, the Easter shift unfavorably affected comparable club sales, as Sam's was closed for Easter Sunday, Wal-Mart said. Comparable club sales for the March-to-April nine-week period were 3.5%, excluding fuel.

Wal-Mart said that comparable store sales increased in Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and Japan, although during the past two weeks, the H1N1 outbreak has affected operations at Wal-Mart de Mexico.

Meanwhile, same-store sales were in the low-single digits in China due to the contracting economy, "causing caution among customers, resulting in a decrease in traffic," Wal-Mart said.