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Walmart-owned Flipkart contributed to the strong growth in net sales for its international business arm, according to the retail giant’s earnings filing for Q1 FY24. The company’s China and Walmex businesses also contributed to the nearly 12.9% increase in net sales year-on-year (YoY) basis for the quarter ended April 30. 

The leadership team at the US-headquartered retail giant continue to be impressed by the performance of ecommerce company Flipkart and payments entity PhonePe in the aftermath of their recent India visit. 

“In India, Flipkart had strong topline results and has improved contribution to profit. It continues to add to its portfolio of services. For example, it started offering bus reservations through its Cleartrip platform during the quarter and is capable of offering one million bus trips already,” said John David Rainey, Executive Vice President and CFO at Walmart Inc, during the earnings call.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said that the company was considering the opportunity to increase its exports from India.

“Flipkart and PhonePe continue to impress us. Flipkart has built an ecosystem and PhonePe leveraging 1 trillion TPV (total payment volume), with 36 million merchants online, enabling them to grow their business is impressive to see…Flipkart and PhonePe are a mutually reinforcing flywheel and we are excited for what they have for the market in future,” said Judith McKenna, CEO of Walmart International, during the earnings call. 

She added that Flipkart Fulfillment Services also saw good traction across the country, with the logistics vertical Ekart opening up its capabilities for third-party businesses. 

Walmart reported consolidated revenue of $152.3 billion for the quarter, up 7.7% year-on-year at constant currency rates. The consolidated operating income went up by $0.9 billion or 17.3% YoY. Ecommerce grew 26% globally for Walmart during the quarter on the back of pickup and delivery.

The retailer also raised its annual sales and profit targets on the back of its Q1 performance, with the shares of Walmart seeing an uptick of 1.3% pre-market on Thursday.