MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Walmart's Mexico and Central America unit reported a 5% dip in its third-quarter net profit on Wednesday as both the costs of its increased sales and general expenses grew.

Walmart de Mexico, the country's largest retailer, posted a net profit of 12.93 billion pesos ($656.61 million), below the average forecast of 13.62 billion pesos seen by analysts polled by LSEG.

Quarterly sales were up 8% from the year-ago quarter to reach 228.43 billion pesos, a touch under the mean estimate of 229.12 billion pesos from analysts polled by LSEG.

In line with the increased sales was the cost of sales, up more than 7% year-over-year. General expenses were up nearly 15% and taxes leaped some 23%.

($1 = 19.6921 Mexican pesos at end-September)