Wal-Mart profit rises, but holiday view light

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By Nicole Maestri

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc posted a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, but forecast earnings during the key holiday quarter that could miss Wall Street estimates as its customers face rising unemployment.

Wal-Mart, whose shares edged up in premarket trading, has embarked on a campaign to be the leader in low prices ahead of the holidays. It is repeatedly sparring with rivals from Amazon.com to Target Corp in cutting prices for items ranging from toys to books.

Executives at the world's largest retailer said on Thursday that its shoppers were still worried about the U.S. economy, despite signs that the country is returning to growth, as unemployment hits double-digit levels.

"Customers continue to tell us they're concerned about their own finances and unemployment," Wal-Mart U.S. chief Eduardo Castro-Wright said on a prerecorded call. "We recognize that some customers may be more cautious in their holiday spending."

Wal-Mart forecast earnings per share of $1.08 to $1.12 from continuing operations for the fourth quarter ending in January.

Analysts on average were expecting profit of $1.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company expects U.S. comparable-store sales for the 13 weeks ending on January 29 to be flat, plus or minus 1 percent.

Sanford Bernstein analyst Colin McGranahan said the forecast was probably conservative and that Wal-Mart could yet deliver results that exceeded those numbers.

"They are kind of in the driver's seat, and they've made it very clear they will be aggressive," he said. "They will be driving down prices ... We may see a little less gross margin expansion going forward."

Profit for the third quarter ended on October 31 rose to $3.23 billion, or 84 cents per share, from $3.14 billion, or 80 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting 81 cents per share.

Wal-Mart had forecast earnings from continuing operations of 78 cents to 82 cents per share.

Sales rose 1.1 percent to $98.67 billion, while analysts were expecting $99.88 billion. Sales at U.S. stores open at least a year fell 0.4 percent.

Wal-Mart Chief Executive Mike Duke said the company was encouraged by shopper traffic at its stores and market share gains. The company said it had gained market share in the United States, UK and Mexico.

The company also posted a 9 percent rise in quarterly underlying profit at its international businesses, outperforming its U.S. operations with strong growth in Britain, Mexico and Brazil.

Wal-Mart shares rose 8 cents to $53.05 in trading before the market opened.

(Reporting by Nicole Maestri in San Francisco and Michele Gershberg in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and John Wallace)

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