America’s biggest offline retailer, Walmart Stores Inc., has registered an increase in its revenue during the fourth quarter of the current fiscal. It reported a 4.1 per cent increase in its total revenue to US $ 136.3 billion.
Net sales at Walmart International in the reporting quarter zoomed by 6.7 per cent to US $ 33.1 billion. Markedly, the retailer recorded positive comparable sales in nine of its eleven markets across the globe.
The company’s consolidated operating income, however, tumbled by 28 per cent to US $ 4.5 billion during the quarter under review. Online sales and GMV3 at Walmart US increased by 23 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively.
With an increase of 3.0 per cent, Walmart reported the total revenue of US $ 500.3 billion for the entire fiscal 2018. It reported a 44 per cent and 47 per cent increase in e-commerce sales and GMV3 for the year, respectively.
Consolidated operating income declined by 10.2 per cent to US $ 20.4 billion for the fiscal.
Walmart, which noted a 2.6 per cent increase in comparable sales in the US, spent aggressively in the last two years to expand its e-commerce offerings, boost employee pay and beautify stores. It invested in acquiring companies like Bonobos, Modcloth, Moosejaw and Jet.com to name a few.
Notably, Jet.com, which was bought by Walmart for US $ 3 billion in August 2016, played a vital role in bolstering the latter’s e-commerce sales in fiscal 2018. “Jet.com complements Walmart.com nicely,” averred Walmart CEO Doug McMillon.
The company expects a sales growth of nearly 40 per cent in the e-commerce division during 2019 fiscal.
