The biggest retailer in the world, Wal-Mart, has reported an 8.1% rise in first-quarter profit, helped by its international business, but forecast second-quarter earnings that could fall short of Wall Street targets.
The discount retailer said poor sales of clothes and home goods at its namesake discount stores hurt its results and left it with excess stock. It said it hopes to be able to show improvements in the third and fourth quarters of this year.
Wal-Mart's first quarter profit rose to $2.83 billion, from $2.62 billion a year earlier.
Sales rose 8.3% to $85.387 billion. Wal-Mart is trying to reinvigorate sales at its 3,476 US stores.
Last week, it said total April sales at US stores open at least a year fell 3.5% -- the biggest decline since it began reporting such figures in 1979.
