LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - US retail giant Walmart missed on both earnings and revenues during the all-important Christmas trading quarter as weaker sales of toys and apparel hit the group.
Walmart said on Tuesday that revenues had grown about 2.1% to $141.67bn, short of estimates for $142.49bn, while like-for-like sales grew 1.9% - also shy of expectations of 2.3%.

E-commerce sales were up 35%, down from 41% in the previous quarter. For the full-year, Walmart posted online sales growth of 37%, ahead of the 35% projected by the group.

Walmart posted a quarterly net income of $4.14bn for the three months ended 31 January, or $1.45 cents a share, ahead of the $3.69bn turned in at the same time a year earlier.

Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.38, five cents shy of the $1.43 expected on the Street.

Chief financial officer Brett Biggs said the holiday trading season had not been "as good as expected" as a result of "lower sales volumes" and some pressures related to associate scheduling.

Walmart also pointed to impacts to its top and bottom lines as a result of recent political unrest in Chile, where protests had caused disruption in its brick and mortar stores throughout the South American nation.

As of 1145 GMT, Walmart shares were up 0.33% in pre-market trading at $117.50 each.

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