 |  |
PR Newswire
News releases from Impact 50 companies -- those public companies with the most impact in Rhode Island -- who subscribe to PR Newswire.
The Home Depot Announces First Quarter Results
ATLANTA, May 20 -- The Home Depot(R), the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported fiscal 2008 first quarter consolidated net earnings of $356 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, compared with $1.0 billion, or $0.53 per diluted share, in the same period in fiscal 2007. These results reflect a nonrecurring charge of $543 million due to the recently announced closing of 15 stores and removal of 50 stores from the future growth pipeline. Excluding this nonrecurring charge, the Company reported consolidated net earnings of $697 million, or $0.41 per diluted share.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20030502/HOMEDEPOTLOGO )
Sales for the first quarter totaled $17.9 billion, a 3.4 percent decrease from the first quarter of fiscal 2007, reflecting negative comparable store sales of 6.5 percent, offset in part by sales from new stores. Due to the 14th week in the fourth quarter of 2007, first quarter benefited from a seasonal timing change that added approximately $536 million to sales.
"The housing and home improvement markets remained difficult in the first quarter; in fact, conditions worsened in many areas of the country," said Frank Blake, chairman & CEO. "I want to thank our associates for their hard work in a tough environment. We will continue to invest wisely in our core retail business to earn our customers' confidence and ensure the long-term health of our business."
"In addition, our decision to close stores and remove planned stores from our pipeline demonstrates our commitment to disciplined capital allocation. This discipline and reinvestment in our existing stores will benefit our shareholders, associates and customers," said Blake.
On June 5th at 8 a.m. ET, the Company will hold its Investor and Analyst Conference to update the investment community on key areas of the business. All presentations will be webcast live at homedepot.com in the Investor Relations section.
The Home Depot will conduct a conference call today at 9 a.m. ET to discuss information included in this news release and related matters. The conference call will be available in its entirety through a webcast and replay at homedepot.com in the Investor Relations section.
At the end of the first quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,258 retail stores, which included 1,970 The Home Depot stores in the United States (including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands and the territory of Guam), 166 stores in Canada, 69 stores in Mexico, 12 stores in China, as well as 2 THD Design Centers, 5 Yardbirds stores and 34 EXPO Design Center locations. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange
To provide clarity about the Company's operating performance for the recently completed fiscal quarter, the Company has supplemented its reporting with non-GAAP measurements to reflect the store rationalization charge. This supplemental information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP measurements. The Company believes that such non-GAAP measures provide management and investors with meaningful information to understand and analyze the Company's performance.
Certain statements contained herein, including any statements related to the state of the home improvement market, the state of the construction and housing markets, and our reinvestment plans, constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these statements are based on currently available information and current expectations and projections about future events, such forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: economic conditions in North America; changes in our cost structure; our ability to attract, train and retain highly qualified associates; conditions affecting customer transactions and average ticket, including, but not limited to, weather conditions, improving and streamlining operations, and customers' in-store experience. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking statements as they speak only as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update these statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances except as may be required by law. Additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties is contained in our periodic filings with the SEC, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2008.
CONTACT: Financial Community: Diane Dayhoff, Sr. Vice President of
Investor Relations, +1-770-384-2666,
Media: Paula Drake, Sr. Mgr., Corporate Communications, +1-770-384-3439,
Web site: http://www.homedepot.com/
