Walmart Mexico is the retailers star south of the border
Wal-Mart de Mexico, Latin America’s largest retail chain and a separately traded stock, reported better-than- expected sales for September, with same-store sales rising 7 percent from a year ago. Improving results have sent the shares soaring 31 percent in 2015, bouncing back from a roughly 40 percent tumble that began after a 2012 scandal in which the company was accused of bribing Mexican officials to speed up store openings. Its parent company’s stock, meanwhile, is down 22 percent this year.
The Mexican chain, known as Walmex, has refocused on its stores after selling restaurants and a bank. That’s helped fuel the recovery, according to Carlos Hermosillo, an equity analyst at Mexico City-based Actinver. A rebound in domestic spending is a providing a tailwind as well, helped by job gains and the lowest inflation rate in almost 50 years.