Duke touts Wal-Mart's success at shareholders meeting

Wal-Mart president and CEO Mike Duke pointed to the company's accomplishments in the past year and his hopes for the future of the world's largest retailer.

Duke commented on the company's earnings growth of 6% over the past year, the 7.3 billion returned to shareholders and the ending of the year with $11.6 billion in free cash flow. In doing so, Duke noted that the company's 2.2 billion associates played an important role in Wal-Mart's success.

Wal-Mart's CEO noted that in one of the toughest economies in decades, the company managed to achieve top line sales performance of more than $400 billion in the past fiscal year.

Improved merchandising, a better store experience and price leadership were some of the strengths Duke pointed to, adding that "people everywhere trust our company."

Duke said that even when the economy improves, customers will stay with Wal-Mart because of the long-term loyalty established.

Other successes Duke noted were more efficient operations, the creation of 63,000 jobs worldwide last year, a commitment to the environment and improving people's access to better health care.