Sales at Wal-Mart's international division jumped in the first quarter

Strong sales of electronics and groceries helped raise net income for the three months to the end of January by 4% to $4.09bn (�2.09bn).

Sales at US stores that have been open for more than a year, known as same-store sales, were up 1.7%.

While the results were slightly better than expected, Wal-Mart said this year would present challenges.

"We know that the economy remains a critical factor in this new fiscal year," Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's chief executive, said in a statement.

"Customers were more cautious in their spending in January," he added.

That was reflected in the company's forecast for sales growth in the current quarter.

It said same-store sales growth in the US would be somewhere between 0% and 2%.