Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), the world’s largest retailer, reported that its fourth-quarter earnings increased by 8.6 percent, beating Wall Street expectations despite lower revenue than analysts had expected.

The Bentonville, Ark., company also boosted its fiscal 2014 full-year dividend by 18 percent.

In its fiscal 2013 fourth-quarter, which ended Jan. 31, 2013, Wal-Mart earned $5.61 billion, or $1.67 per share, compared with $5.16 billion, or $1.51 per share, in the year-earlier period.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg News expected $1.57 per share, and Wal-Mart had forecast earnings per share for the three-month period of $1.53 to $1.58 per share.

Revenue rose 3.9 percent to $127.10 billion from $122.29 billion in the year-earlier period.

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