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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Wal-Mart says climate 'difficult' | Wal-Mart says climate 'difficult' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Chief Executive of Wal-Mart, Mike Duke, says the sales environment "continues to be difficult". | The Chief Executive of Wal-Mart, Mike Duke, says the sales environment "continues to be difficult". |
| The world's largest supermarket, which owns Asda in the UK, saw sales slip 0.4% in the August-to-October period at stores open for more than a year. | |
| This comes despite the retailer lowering prices as customers battle rising unemployment. The US jobless rate is now at 10.2%. | |
| However, profit rose more than expected, up 3.2% to $3.24bn (£1.9bn) | However, profit rose more than expected, up 3.2% to $3.24bn (£1.9bn) |
| Mr Duke also said that customer traffic was up throughout the company and that the firm "gained market share, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico". | Mr Duke also said that customer traffic was up throughout the company and that the firm "gained market share, especially in the United States, the United Kingdom and Mexico". |
| Wal-Mart has said it will slash prices in the run-up to Christmas, taking on rivals such as Amazon.com and Target. | |
| The company says its customers have not yet seen the benefits from the US economy coming out of recession. | The company says its customers have not yet seen the benefits from the US economy coming out of recession. |
| Its UK business, Asda, performed particularly well. Sales there grew 5.6% in the quarter. | |
| The chief financial officer, Judith McKenna, said all parts of the business - food, home and leisure, and clothing - were outperforming their respective markets. | |
| Asda has pledged to save customers £150m ($248m) this Christmas. |