UPDATE 3-New stores help Mexico's Walmex post higher profit

* Q2 profit 4.936 bln pesos vs 4.523 bln pesos year earlier
* Second-quarter profit rose 9 percent
* Revenue up 12 pct

MEXICO CITY, July 23 (Reuters) - Mexico's top retailer
Wal-Mart de Mexico on Monday said its
second-quarter profit rose 9 percent, in line with analysts'
expectations, as newly opened stores boosted sales.
The company has cut back on an aggressive expansion plan as
U.S. and Mexican authorities investigate allegations it bribed
local officials to speed up store openings. However, it still
managed to open more than 50 stores in the quarter.
Walmex, controlled by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc
, said second-quarter profit rose 9 percent to 4.936
billion pesos ($370 million) from 4.523 billion pesos in the
year-earlier period.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the company
to report a profit of 4.93 billion pesos.
Revenue rose 12 percent to 98.5 billion pesos, helped by the
56 new stores and restaurants Walmex opened in Mexico and
Central America in the second quarter.
The company has come under scrutiny after a New York Times
investigation in April revealed it bribed local officials for
building permits, allowing it to rapidly expand.
U.S. and Mexican authorities are investigating the
allegations and the company said it is co-operating fully.
Walmex Chief Executive Scot Rank said on a call that as part
of efforts to improve compliance with laws such as the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act ( FCPA), the company has hired fo rmer
Pricewaterhouse Coopers partner Jav ier Soni as head of
compliance, real estate and corporate affairs.
Rank also said Adriana Velazquez will join at the end of
August with responsibility for anticorruption efforts, reporting
directly to Walmart's global FCPA compliance officer Tom Gean.
Ra n k did not say where Velazquez joins from.
Although Walmex is still expanding, growth has slowed as a
result of the corruption investigations.
The company last month said it would slash planned store
openings for 2012 and cut its planned investment spending in
response to the investigations.
To date this year, the company has opened 111 stores and
restaurants in Mexico and Central America, down from 176 at the
same point in 2011.
Walmex said in its earnings statement that it expects to
incur expenses related to the investigations but that it cannot
give an estimate of those costs.
Walmex shares closed up 0.82 percent at 36.9 5 pesos before
the company announced results.