The American supermarket group Walmart expects that profit will fall less sharply this year than it previously assumed. This is because, despite the increased prices, consumers are not skimping on groceries for the time being.
As a result, the group announced that Walmart had raised its turnover forecast for the full fiscal year.
In addition to food, the retail chain sold more clothing and electronics in the past quarter, mainly by luring customers to the stores with discounts. As a result, turnover in the past quarter rose by 9 percent, above the expectations of market experts.
The group also announced on Tuesday that it had reached a $3.1 billion settlement over its role in the so-called opiate crisis in the United States. This buys off thousands of lawsuits from states and local governments.
Companies like Walmart and Walgreens, where painkillers could be bought, were blamed for the flood of pills on the market that killed more than half a million Americans in the past two decades. These were heavy painkillers that countless Americans have become addicted to in recent years.
However, government agencies accuse the companies of downplaying the addiction risks of the painkillers and sacrificing patient safety for billions of dollars in profit.