Walmart delivered a long awaited same-store sales increase of 1.3% at its U.S. stores division in the third quarter and pointed to ongoing momentum for the holidays with comps guidance in the range of flat to up 2%.

It may have taken longer than originally thought, but competition authorities in South Africa cleared the way for Walmart to move forward with its acquisition of Massmart, the company announced Tuesday.

If there was a bright spot to Walmart’s fourth-quarter results it was the international division where sales increased in every country, expansion surged and operating profits increased 9.7% to $5.4 billion on sales that increased 7.6% to $104.8 billion. Those results are on a constant currency basis that assumes foreign exchanges rates are consistent year over year and present a more accurate view of country-by-country performance.