Quarterly figures released

The world’s biggest retailer Wal-Mart increased sales by 2.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 to US $ 104 bn. In exchange rate adjusted terms, however, the sales figure of US $ 100 bn was 1.4 per cent below the level of the previous year. Sales abroad, adjusted to take account of the exchange rate, fell by 5.1 per cent to US $ 23.97 bn. In the USA, the group’s sales on a comparable store area and not including filling stations were down by 1.2 per cent. Net profit at US $ 3.44 bn fell just short (0.2 per cent) of the previous year’s figure.