Wal-Mart de Mexico Q2 profit drops on store openings

New York City -- Wal-Mart de Mexico SA said second-quarter profit fell 3.4% as the chain increased spending to open new stores and integrate Central American operations.



The Mexican unit of Wal-Mart Stores reported a net income of 4.49 billion pesos ($380 million) in the April-June period, down from 4.65 billion pesos during the same three months of 2010. Revenue rose 9% to 88.37 billion pesos ($7.49 billion).



CEO Scot Rank says spending to open new stores cut into profits but will help performance in the second half of the year.



The company has opened 176 stores so far in 2011, with the majority of the openings were in late June.