Wall Street Journal
By Matt Jarzemsky
Lowe's Cos. said its fiscal first-quarter profit fell 5.7% amid a surprise sales drop amid economic pressure, unfavorable weather and comparison with a prior-year period helped by government stimulus.
The company trimmed its current-year earnings forecast to $1.56 to $1.64 a share from its earlier view of $1.60 to $1.72. It reduced its sales growth estimate to 4% from its previous 5% prediction.
For the current quarter, it anticipates earnings of 65 cents to 69 cents on sales rising 4%. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently expected a 68-cent profit and a 3% increase in sales.
The home-improvement retailer has seen earnings climb in recent quarters as home-improvement demand has been recovering after years of declines. The company faces higher costs for commodities such as lumber and fuel.
For the quarter ended April 29, Lowe's profit slid to $461 million from $489 million a year earlier. On a per-share basis, earnings were flat at 34 cents as the number of shares outstanding decreased. Net sales dipped 1.6% to $12.19 billion and were down 3.3% on a same-store basis.
In February, the company predicted earnings of 34 cents to 38 cents on a 2% sales increase.
Gross margin widened to 35.4% from 35.2%.
