Wal-Mart de Mexico Q4 profit up 17%

Mexico City Wal-Mart de Mexico SA says its fourth-quarter profit rose 17% as the company continued to open new stores and cut prices to draw customers in a tough economy.

The Mexican unit of Wal-Mart Stores says net income totaled 5.7 billion pesos ($440 million) in the fourth quarter, up from 4.9 billion pesos in the same period of 2008. Total revenue rose 11% to 80.3 billion pesos ($6.2 billion).

Walmex CEO Scott Rank said in a conference call with investors Thursday that the company opened a record 275 stores and restaurants in 2009 and attracted 13.8% more customers than in 2008.