US discount titan Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, lowered its earnings guidance today, partly because of disappointing international sales.
Wal-Mart now expects earnings per share from continuing operations of between 91 and 94 cents per share in the months from November to January, the company said in a statement. The latest guidance was far below analysts' consensus forecast of $1.06 a share.
The company posted profits of $1.04 a share the same time last year. In Wal-Mart's prior fourth-quarter guidance, issued November 13, the range was between $1.03-$1.07.
Since then the company has settled lawsuits by its employees over working conditions that it says would lower profits by six cents a share.
Disappointing sales abroad and at the company's membership discounter Sam's Club were weighing on the outlook, the company said.
Wal-Mart said that its overall sales fell 0.1% to $46.5 billion in the five weeks ended January 2, the peak of the crucial year-end holiday shopping season. The strongest gains were in the US, where sales rose 4.3% to $30.9 billion.
The company said that due to the difficult economy and severe winter weather in some regions, the holiday season was more challenging for retailers than expected.
Sam's Club sales fell 2.1% to $4.8 billion and international sales plunged 10.4% to $10.7 billion.
