Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Thursday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit as increased drug prices and solid demand for basic apparel items boosted sales, and its shares jumped more than 7 per cent, reports Reuters. The company’s performance bucked a string of weak results from competitors. On Wednesday, rival Target Corp, which caters to a higher-income customer than Wal-Mart, gave a cautious outlook and reported a lower-than-expected rise in quarterly sales due to unseasonable weather and soft demand. ‘It looks like the middle-to-higher-income customers have cut back, but the lower-income customer is spending,’ said Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough. The upbeat results also suggest Wal-Mart may be benefiting from its $2.7 billion investment to increase entry-level wages and in training of its workforce. Store visits rose 1.5 per cent in the first quarter ended on April 29. ‘Overall a pretty strong quarter,’ chief financial officer Brett Biggs said in an interview. ‘We are very pleased with the traffic increases, and I think that goes along with what we are seeing with customer experience scores that continue to improve.’
