Walmart International Q2 operating income declines 29.6% due to Flipkart

Walmart International, the segment which consists of the retail giant’s operations outside US including retail websites, on Thursday posted 29.6 per cent decline in operational income on a reported basis and 27.3 per cent decline in constant currency, primarily due to Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart.

The Bentonville-based company (in Arkansas) is locked in a battle with US rival Amazon for dominance in India’s online retail market through Flipkart, which it acquired for $16 billion last year in May.

“Walmart International continued to make progress on managing costs and delivered 36 basis points of expense leverage in the quarter. However, operating income declined 27.3 percent in constant currency and 29.6 percent on a reported basis due primarily to the expected dilution from Flipkart as well as the overall gross margin pressure,” said Brett Biggs, executive vice-president and chief financial officer of Walmart Inc.