Wal-Mart de México SAB de CV, the Mexico-based subsidiary of Walmart Inc., on Feb. 15 reported year-over-year profit and sales growth in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The company said Feb. 15 that net profit attributable to owners of its parent rose to 10.58 billion Mexican pesos for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017. That is 1.7% higher than the 10.4 billion pesos reported in the prior-year quarter.

The company reported EPS of 61 centavos for the quarter, compared to 60 centavos a year ago.

The retailer's revenue also increased during the fiscal fourth quarter. Walmex revenue grew 6.8% to 168.19 billion pesos from 157.5 billion pesos in the same quarter last year.

For the full year 2017, Walmex said its profit attributable to owners of the parent jumped to 39.87 billion pesos from the 33.35 billion pesos reported for 2016. EPS rose to 2.28 pesos from 1.91 pesos a year earlier.

During prerecorded statements released Feb. 15, President and CEO Guilherme Loureiro said the company opened 125 new stores in fiscal year 2017, including 78 in Mexico and 47 in Central America. In 2016, the company opened 92 new stores. As of Dec. 31, 2017, it operated 3,134 locations in both regions.

Loureiro said the company improved its competitive position during the year, widening its price cap compared to competitors by 40 basis points. Same-store sales, which grew 6.3% in Mexico and 4.9% in Central America during the year, were "the main growth driver" for the company, he said.

"In 2017, we faced several macroeconomic headwinds, natural disasters and temporary store closures due to protest related to gas price increase," he said. "Despite these challenges, we're able to keep our growth momentum."

As of Feb. 15, US$1 was equivalent to 18.51 Mexican pesos.