Feb 18, 2005 9:00 AM, from staff and wire reports

Wal-Mart Stores Inc reported record sales and earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Jan 31, 2005. Net sales were $82.2 billion, an increase of 10.4% over the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004. Income from continuing operations for the quarter was $3.2 billion, a gain of 16.2% from $2.7 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2004.

Net sales for the year ended Jan 31, 2005, were $285.2 billion, or 11.3% higher than the previous year. Income from continuing operations for fiscal 2005 surged 15.9% to a record $10.3 billion, up from $8.9 billion in fiscal 2004.

Lee Scott, president and chief executive officer of the Bentonville AR-based retail giant, said, “In the year just completed, we added almost $29 billion in sales and topped $10 billion in net income for the first time in our history. It was a solid performance, but we can do better. With the help of our associates, we can look forward to even better results in the current year.”