Wal-Mart Posts 3 Percent Rise In Profit For 3Q

ANNE D'INNOCENZIO

NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. posted a 3.2 percent increase in third-quarter profit, helped by cost-cutting measures like slashing inventories, and raised its full-year earnings outlook.

But sales at its U.S. namesake stores open at least a year slipped, and the company predicted that they could continue to fall through the critical fourth quarter, fueling more worries about the holiday shopping season and the economy.

Wal-Mart shares rose 67 cents to $53.64 in morning trading.

The discounter, based in Bentonville, Ark., on Thursday reported a profit of $3.24 billion, or 84 cents per share, for the period ended Oct. 31. That compares with $3.14 billion, or 80 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue rose to $99.4 billion from $98.3 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 81 cents per share on revenue of $99.9 billion.

But the company said that sales at stores open at least a year fell 0.4 percent in the period because of continued deflation in such categories as electronics and dairy as well as a tough economy. That marked the second consecutive quarterly decline. The measurement is considered an important gauge of a retailer's health because it excludes the effects of expansion.