Home Depot Revises Earnings Higher

Atlanta, GA, June 10, 2009--Home Depot Inc. said Wednesday that earnings this fiscal year would probably be higher than it had previously expected.

The home-improvement segment has been hurt by the economic downturn and housing-market slump, with customers continuing to delay projects and purchases of big-ticket items. Chairman and Chief Executive Frank Blake said last month that the company's markets remained under pressure.

Home Depot now expects fiscal-year per-share earnings, excluding items, to fall 20% to 26% from a year earlier. Last month, it reiterated its forecast for a 26% decline to about $1.32 a share.

Home Depot, which affirmed its sales and gross-margin views, also said as part of its long-term strategy it will focus on its core retail business and look to improve its supply chain to boost efficiency. Home Depot has been completing a sweeping restructuring plan, announcing earlier this year that it would close its Expo business, cut jobs, slow even more on expansion and write down the value of its stake in its former construction-supply business.