Wal-Mart Stores, the world's biggest retailer, reported Tuesday record quarterly earnings and sales for its discounted wares but sounded a cautious note on the weak US economy.

Net income for the fiscal 2009 first quarter ended April 30 was a record 3.022 billion dollars, an increase of 6.9 percent from the same period in 2008.

Earnings per share (EPS) of 76 cents slightly topped analysts' consensus forecast of 75 cents.

Net sales in the first quarter were approximately 94.1 billion dollars, an increase of 10.2 percent from the same period a year ago and also at a record high for the Bentonville, Arkansas-based behemoth.

"We continue to deliver against the business model that (founder) Sam Walton started -- selling branded merchandise for less. Our business is even more relevant to our customers today, given the current economic pressures," said Lee Scott, Wal-Mart president and chief executive.

"We continue to make progress in delivering on our mission of saving people money so they can live better," Scott added.

The huge retailer, known for its big-box stores and discounted prices, said that its worlwide sales growth was driven by price leadership, better customer service and operational improvements, "even in light of economic headwinds caused by higher energy costs and food inflation."

International sales led the way, rocketing 22 percent higher.

Wal-Mart said its Asda supermarket chain in Britain, for example, saw same-store sales climb five percent.

The figure excludes petrol, the impact of an early Easter and the effect of the extra leap day, the company said, saying total sales had increased in the "high single digits."

The retailer claimed its "strong" performance was due to an increase in customer traffic driven by lower prices and strong seasonal events at Asda, Britain's number-two supermarket group after Tesco.

It said Asda outperformed the market for the eighth consecutive quarter with market share up 0.3 percent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to April 20.

"Although we expect the UK to remain a challenging economy and retail market over the rest of the year, we believe that our strong pricing agenda, backed by a cost reduction programme leaves us well positioned to continue to make market share there," said Mike Duke, Wal-Mart International vice chairman.

Wal-Mart operates in Argentina, Brazil, Britain, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico.

Sales in the retail giant's home market were far less brisk. Wal-Mart brand stores registered a gain of 6.6 percent, while its Sam's Club stores climbed 7.6 percent.

"For the second quarter of fiscal year 2009, we estimate the company's comparable-store sales increase in the United States to be between flat and two percent," said Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart executive vice president and chief financial officer.

The impact on US sales from a federal 168-billion-dollar stimulus package to jump-start the economy, featuring tax rebates that began to be issued last month, is "currently difficult to quantify," Schoewe said.

Second-quarter earnings per share are expected to be between 78 cents and 81 cents, he said, a more conservative forecast than analysts' expectations of 81 cents.

Wal-Mart's stock, a component of the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average, skidded 2.05 percent to 56.83 dollars in midday New York trade.