Wal-Mart Stores Inc, on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected 0.9 percent rise in February sales at US stores open at least a year and provided a tepid forecast for March. Wal-Mart, whose shares fell less than 1 percent, also announced a 31 percent increase in its annual dividend, nearly three times last year's rise of 11.7 percent.
The world's largest retailer, which has been struggling to reinvigorate its US sales, said that during February it had continued to see weakness in its home and clothing businesses, a trend it expects to persist through the spring. It also said its February sales suffered because of unfavourable weather. Analysts on average had been expecting a February same-store sales increase of 1.7 percent, according to a Reuters survey. Wal-Mart itself had forecast a rise of 1 percent to 2 percent. The retailer said net sales for the four weeks ended March 2 rose 8.1 percent to $26.79 billion.
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