US retail major Walmart said on Tuesday it saw the impact of the lockdown in India and 'closure' of its Flipkart businesses during the June quarter on its international net sales.

Walmart International net sales for Q2 decreased by 6.8 percent due to change in currency rates, which would otherwise be a jump of 1.6 percent YoY. Its net sales came in at $27.2 billion, and excluding currency, net sales would have been $29.6 billion.

Also read:

Walmart's Flipkart to offer 90-minute delivery in India

"Net sales included the effects of the government-mandated closure of the company's Flipkart business in India for a portion of the quarter, as well as similar actions in markets in Africa and Central America," Walmart said in its Q2 earnings.

During the first two phases of the nationwide lockdown, ecommerce companies like Flipkart were only allowed to deliver essentials, and could not sell the high-priced non-essential items.

Also read: Amazon to launch online drug sales in Bengaluru

However, Walmart said the volume on Flipkart post the lockdown has been huge. "Since re-opening, gross merchandise value (GMV) at Flipkart has exceeded pre-COVID-19 levels," the American company said.

Walmart also led an investment of $1.2 billion in Flipkart in July for valuation of $25 billion. Asked about the valuation given the current pandemic, Walmart executives said the valuation was not for the short term.

Also read: Flipkart partners HipBar for alcohol delivery in Bengal, Odisha

"The investment in Flipkart was to make sure they have enough room and enough cash to operate given the opportunity in India. We are not hung up on valuation. Over time, everyone will understand how valuable that business is," Walmart chief executive officer Doug McMillon said during the earnings call.

He also said the company was "excited" about the launch of Flipkart Wholesale, which saw Walmart's cash and carry operations merge with Flipkart last month.