Walmart Inc.'s Mexican unit saw profit and sales gains in the second quarter even as the number of covid-19 cases, which had fallen during the first quarter, began rising again.
Walmart de Mexico y Central America, or Walmex, said Thursday that net income in the quarter jumped 486% to $485 million, compared with $82.8 million in the April-through-June quarter last year.
Second-quarter net income in 2020 took a hit from a one-time tax payment, the company said.
Revenue grew 3.3% over last year's second quarter to $8.7 billion.
In Mexico, sales at stores opened at least a year, or same-store sales, rose 4.7%. In Central America, same-store sales grew 8.6%, led by Honduras. Same-store sales are considered a key indicator of a retailer's health.
The company didn't say how its e-commerce sales growth compared with last year's.
Interim Chief Financial Officer Milton Brandt said Walmex returned $1.3 billion in dividends to its shareholders and invested $892 million in strategic projects.
Walmex is Bentonville-based Walmart's largest international market. It operates 2,677 stores in Mexico and 861 in Central America in a variety of formats.
Guilherme Loureiro, chief executive officer of Walmex, said in the earnings presentation that general merchandise and apparel sales improved over last year, when food and consumables dominated as customers spent more time at home.
Walmex continues to focus on its omnichannel strategy, Loureiro said.
Customers "will continue shopping at stores , but more and more, there will be occasions where they prefer to pick up an order or have it delivered directly to their homes, and we will be there to serve them seamlessly," Loureiro said.
An omnichannel business model in retail incorporates physical and online stores, according to Investopedia.com.
The Walmart Pass subscription program Walmex started last quarter, similar to Walmart Plus in the U.S., is already having a positive response, Loureiro said. The company is seeing a 15% increase in tickets and getting favorable feedback from customers.
Loureiro said the company's bill-paying app called Cashi enabled digital payment of more than 40 services in the second quarter, including utilities, cable and mobile, entertainment and transportation.
"The next step is to enable Cashi as an online payment method on our e-commerce websites," Loureiro said. "We know customers will appreciate this new feature, and it will help us to drive omnichannel sales."
Loureiro also said in the earnings presentation that the company has named Paulo Garcia as chief financial officer of Walmart de Mexico y Central America. Coming from Dutch grocery retailer Ahold Delhaize, Garcia will join the company on Aug. 2.
Garcia succeeds Brandt, who will become CFO of the company's Central American operations starting Sept. 1.