Wal-Mart owns the UK's second-largest retailer, Asda.
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The world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, has warned that it may miss profit targets because of the tough economic climate and higher transport costs.
Customers running out of money before their next pay day as a result of higher bills may dent sales, it said.
However, its quarterly net profit rose by 7% in the first three months of 2008 to $3.02bn (£1.55bn).
Wal-Mart's UK arm, Asda, said like-for-like sales excluding petrol were up 6.4%.
The UK's second-largest supermarket pledged to work with suppliers to keep prices down, despite the inflationary pressures.
'Volatile times'
Wal-Mart's results came as US Commerce Department data showed that retail sales fell 0.2% in April.
But observers have suggested that Wal-Mart is better-placed than many retailers to ride out the tough times.
And despite belt-tightening it was not all doom and gloom, said the head of Wal-Mart's US division, Eduardo Castro-Wright, who reported that non-essential purchases, such as home entertainment, were still selling well,
"Customers do shop for things they want, not just what they need," he said.
Managing overheads remained key, said Wal-Mart's chief financial officer, Tom Schoewe.
"These are volatile times and we want to make sure that we run our stores conservatively," he said, adding that surging transportation costs, on the back of rising fuel bills, remained "a potential headwind".
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