Home Depot suffers from housing slump

The Home Depot Inc., the worldÔÇÖs largest home improvement retailer, reported a 24 percent drop in second-quarter profit but still beat Wall Street expectations.   Atlanta-based Home Depot today announced net earnings of $1.2 billion (71 cents per share) in the three months ended 3 August, compared with $1.6 billion (81 cents per share) in the same period a year ago. ┬á┬á The company maintained its downbeat outlook for the year, with the weak housing and home improvement market showing no signs of recovery.┬á┬á Sales fell 5.4 percent to $21 billion from $22.2 billion in the year-ago period. Same-store sales at stores open for at least a year, considered a key indicator of a retailer's health, fell 7.9 percent. A survey of analysts by Thomson Reuters projected earnings per share of 61 cents on revenue of $20.58 billion.┬á┬á "We continue to see pressure on our market and the consumer, generally," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO, in a statement. Despite the weak economic climate, he noted that the company had seen improved execution in its merchandising and operations initiatives during the past quarter.┬á┬á The sluggish economy and the housing slowdown have hit the sector across the board, with industry rival Lowe's, the nationÔÇÖs second largest home improvement retailer, reporting an 8 percent fall in second-quarter income yesterday.┬á┬á Home Depot has been trying to offer more locally relevant products in stores while focusing on the do-it-yourself customer and the small repair and remodeling professional. The company said about 70 percent of its sales were from homeowners, with the other 30 percent coming from professional contractors.┬á┬á Read The Home DepotÔÇÖs statement in full here.   ┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á ┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *