Walmart: fourth-quarter net profit up, dividend raised

(CercleFinance.com) - Walmart raised its annual dividend by about 2% on Tuesday, as the retailer posted solid sales growth through Cyber Monday and in January.


The company said its board of directors approved an annual cash dividend for fiscal year 2021 of 2.16 dollars per share, from the 2.12 dollars per share paid for the last fiscal year.

Walmart said its net profit rose to 4.1 billion dollars, or 1.45 dollar per share, in its fourth quarter ended January, compared with 3.7 billion dollars or 1.27 dollar per share a year earlier.

Total revenue was 141.7 billion dollars, up 2.1%, the group said.

Walmart also said it expected full-year 2021 earnings of 5 dollars to 5.15 dollars per share, up 1.5% to 4.5% compared with 2020.

It expects Walmart US same-store sales growth to be at least 2.5%, excluding fuel, after growing 1.9% in last year's fourth quarter.

Walmart shares - one of the components of the Dow Jones industrial average - were down 1.5% in pre-market trading. They are pretty much flat year-to-date.

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