Wal-Mart to cut US capital spending by a third this year

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will cut capital spending at its U.S. stores division by a third this year as it slows the opening of super-centers, discount stores and grocery locations.

Spending will drop to a range of $5.8 billion to $6.4 billion in the year that will end Jan. 31, or as much as 36 percent, from $9.1 billion a year earlier, Wal-Mart said today during an analyst presentation in Rogers, Arkansas.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, bowed to pressure from investors seeking greater returns as it trims spending and focuses on remodeling rather than opening outlets. The company plans to open 166 U.S. super-centers that sell a combination of general merchandise and groceries this year, and 125 to 140 the following 12 months.

Both are lower than the 191 stores that started in the last fiscal year, according to a presentation by Wal-Mart's Eduardo Castro-Wright, U.S. stores chief.

“Capex is supposed to come down a lot, and that is what the markets want,'' David Abella, a portfolio manager at Rochdale Investment Management, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview before Castro-Wright's remarks.

The New York-based firm manages Wal-Mart shares among $2 billion in assets as of September 30.