Walmart says Flipkart buy may hit earnings per share by $0.3

New Delhi: The world's largest retailer

Walmart

on Thursday said its $16-billion investment in Flipkart may negatively impact its earnings per share (EPS) by $0.25-0.30 in fiscal year 2019, even though it remains "excited about what the future holds" in the fast growing Indian e-commerce space. "The company's investment in Flipkart... is expected to negatively impact fiscal year 2019 EPS if the transaction closes at the end of the second quarter," Walmart said.

The Doug McMillon-led company reported better-than-expected numbers in the first quarter with total revenue growing 4.4% to $123 billion. Its online sales grew 33% and expects it to grow about 40% for the full year. Walmart's net sales from international business grew nearly 12% to over $30 billion.

Walmart CEO

McMillon

said e-commerce in India is growing rapidly and it expects the segment to grow at four times the rate of overall retail. "Flipkart is already capturing a large portion of this growth and is well-positioned to accelerate into the future," agencies