New York - Retailing giant Wal-Mart reported Tuesday that its net earnings fell nearly 8 per cent in the final quarter of fiscal 2008/2009 business year, with results hurt by legal costs and currency factors.

The Bentonville, Arkansas-based world's largest retailer said its surplus for the quarter ending January 31 came to 3.8 billion dollars, dropping despite a 2 per cent increase in sales volume, to 108 billion dollars.

For the full year, Wal-Mart said its profit rose more than 5 per cent to 13.4 billion dollars. The earnings came on sales of 405.6 billion dollars, up 7 per cent over the 2007/2008 year. (dpa)