Home Depot Records Profit, Partly on Flooring

Atlanta, GA, Feb. 23, 2010--Home Depot reported a quarterly profit on Tuesday as it benefited from efforts to improve efficiency.

The company said its sales performance was driven by gains in kitchen and bath, paint, flooring and plumbing as well as its international businesses.

The company said its net profit was $342 million, or 20 cents a share, in the fourth quarter ended on Jan. 31, compared with a year-earlier loss of $54 million, or 3 cents a share.

Sales fell 0.3 percent to $14.57 billion.

The home improvement retailer lifted its dividend by 5% to 23.625 cents a share, the first increase since 2006.

In 2010, it expects earnings per share from continuing operations to grow by around 15.5% to $1.79.

"Despite the tough economic environment, we were able to make solid progress against our key initiatives in 2009," said CEO Frank Blake.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,244 retail stores