Atlanta — Home Depot reported flat net earnings and an 11.3 percent increase in sales for its fiscal third quarter that ended Oct. 29.
Net earnings of $1.5 billion were the same as last year’s third quarter, while sales for in the quarter were $23.1 billion, an 11.3 percent increase from the same time last year.
Total sales in the retail segment grew 1.1 percent to $19.7 billion. Comparable store sales declined 5.1 percent in the third quarter. The U.S. retail home improvement market has slowed significantly due to a slowing overall economy, declining home prices and equity extraction, and slowing housing turnover, the chain said.
Total sales in HD Supply grew by 159 percent to $3.5 billion, driven by acquisitions as well as organic growth, the chain said.
Bob Nardelli, chairman, president/CEO said, “Our sales performance was softer than we anticipated, but I believe we are making the right decisions to strengthen our core retail business and build our HD Supply platform to ensure that we emerge even stronger when the housing cycle rebounds.”
Craig Menear, senior VP of merchandising, noted, “Despite the slowing home improvement market, we gained market share in key categories, including hand tools and accessories, tractors, patio furniture, hard flooring and appliances.” During the quarter, Home Depot launched several new exclusive product lines, including: LG SteamWasher, a steam washer and dryer and the Maytag Epic washer and dryer.
