Lowe's Reports Higher Earnings, Sales

Mooresville, NC, May 21, 2014 -- Home center Lowe's reported first quarternet earnings of $624 million, a 15.6% increase over the same period a year ago. Earnings per share increased 24.5% to $0.61 from $0.49 in the first quarter of 2013.

Sales for the quarter increased 2.4% to $13.4 billion from $13.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013, and comparable sales increased 0.9%.

"We executed well during the quarter, despite an unexpectedly prolonged winter in many areas of the country," said Robert A. Niblock, Lowe's CEO.

"While poor weather dampened traffic and negatively impacted performance of exterior categories, results for indoor categories were solid. We effectively aligned inventory, staffing and marketing resources by climatic zone to best serve customers' needs."

Niblock said the firm's performance has improved in May.