The world's biggest retailer Wal-Mart reported on May 14 a $3.02 billion net income for the first quarter of 2009, the same as a year ago.
Proving it could weather the economic downturn markedly better than its competitors, Wal-Mart reported first quarter net sales for the first quarter as $93.4 billion, a decrease of only 0.6% from the first quarter last year.
Wal-Mart said its earnings per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 were $0.77, at the high end of the company's guidance of $0.72-0.77. The store earned $0.76 per share in the first quarter last year.
"These results were achieved in the face of a very challenging global economy," said Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke.
"When economic conditions improve, we believe customers who shop Wal-Mart today will stay with us, because of the business improvements we're making and continue to make," he added. "Across the company, we are building our brand by reducing costs, sharpening our merchandising and updating our stores."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2009
