The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Walmart enjoyed robust fourth-quarter results after inflation-squeezed shoppers flocked to its stores, and said it would buy smart-TV maker Vizio for $2.3-billion (U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that shares in the retail giant rose 3 per cent in premarket trading after it also gave an upbeat annual sales forecast and announced a 9-per-cent rise in its dividend, the biggest increase in more than a decade. Walmart's proposed offer to buy Vizio, for $11.50 (U.S.) per share in cash, is another bet on the retailer's fast-growing U.S. advertising business, where ad sales rose 22 per cent in the quarter ended Jan. 31. The deal also gives Walmart access to Vizio's SmartCast operating system, through which it can rake in advertising revenue by offering its suppliers the ability to display ads on streaming devices. It also gives Walmart control of a fifth of the U.S. television market. Walmart posted a 3.9-per-cent rise in comparable sales, excluding fuel, for its fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, compared with estimates of 2.91 per cent. Americans flocked to Walmart's stores to buy its low-priced and discounted products during the holiday season late last year.