Wal-Mart CFO says downturn difficult to predict

By Nicole Maestri

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economic downturn has "ingredients we haven't seen before," like the steep rise in gasoline prices, making it hard to determine how long the difficult climate will persist, the chief financial officer of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said in an interview on Tuesday.

"While we've seen gas prices go up historically, we've never seen the slope of the line -- that increase -- be so pronounced," Tom Schoewe told Reuters. "It's difficult to say how long this is going to last."

Schoewe made the comments after Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, reported a nearly 7 percent jump in first-quarter profits.

But Wal-Mart indicated results for its current quarter could miss Wall Street estimates as it contends with a tough economic environment, higher transportation costs and customers who are running out of money between paychecks.

The company forecast earnings per share of 78 cents to 81 cents for its second quarter. Analysts on average are expecting 81 cents.

Schoewe said the retailer is being "appropriately conservative" with its fiscal second-quarter forecast.

"These are volatile times and we want to make sure that we run our stores conservatively," he said.

Wal-Mart typically updates its quarterly earnings forecast after the second month of each quarter.