Lowe's Reports Q4, Annual Income, Sales

Mooresville, NC, Feb. 25, 2013 -- Lowe’s reported fourth quarter net earnings of $288 million and earnings per share of $0.26, below 2011, which had an extra week.

For the fiscal year, net earnings were $2.0 billion and earnings per share were $1.69.

Sales for the fourth quarter decreased 5.0% to $11.0 billion from $11.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011.

For the fiscal year, sales were $50.5 billion, a 0.6% increase over fiscal year 2011.

Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of 2012 increased 1.9% on a consolidated basis as well as for the U.S. business.

For the fiscal year, comparable store sales increased 1.4%, while comparable store sales for the U.S. business increased 1.5%.

As of Feb. 1, Lowe’s operated 1,754 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and it expects to open 10 stores this year.