Walmart's Asda sales rise 0.4 percent in second quarter

LONDON (Reuters) - Asda, the British supermarket arm of Walmart that has agreed to be acquired by Sainsbury's, reported a 0.4 percent rise in underlying sales, and said it was more profitable due to improvements in non-food margins.

Asda, the UK's third largest grocer after Sainsbury's and market leader Tesco, said on Thursday like-for-like sales, excluding fuel, rose 0.4 percent, in its fiscal second quarter, on a gross profit rate that increased compared to last year.

In the previous quarter, underlying sales had risen 1.0 percent, adjusted for Easter.

(Reporting by Sarah Young; editing by Kate Holton)