New York, September 28--Lowe's will tell analysts and investors today in Manhattan at its annual conference that the company's strategic initiatives, customer focused culture, and strong management team position Lowe's to build on its success well into the future.
In an update to current sales and earnings trends, the company indicated it remains comfortable with its previous guidance of 3 to 4 percent comparable store sales growth and earnings per share of $0.65 to $0.66 for the third quarter of 2004, and approximately 6 percent comparable store sales growth and earnings per share of $2.69 to $2.71 for the fiscal year.
"I'm convinced our future is bright with tremendous opportunities to grow volume, share and customer loyalty in every category and every market we serve," commented Robert L. Tillman, Lowe's chairman and CEO, who previously announced his plans to retire at the end of this fiscal year. "As my retirement approaches, I believe we have the best group of employees in retail today, and with Robert Niblock and a strong management team in place, I know I'm leaving Lowe's in great hands. I have full confidence in Robert's ability to build on our success and lead Lowe's to even greater results in the future."
At today's conference president Robert A. Niblock, who will become the company's next chairman and CEO on January 28, 2005, will discuss Lowe's plans to capitalize on the demographic, social and economic trends shaping the home improvement industry.
Robert F. Hull, Jr., executive vice president and CFO, will provide an outlook for fiscal years 2005 and 2006 and share Lowe's future store growth plans.
"We continue to add new stores in quality locations, and they are quickly being adopted as the first choice for home improvement by customers in those markets," said Hull. "We plan to add 150 stores in 2005 and 150 to 160 new stores in fiscal 2006, equating to approximately 13 to 14 percent square footage growth in 2005 and 12 percent in 2006. We expect this square footage growth to drive annual sales increases of 16 to 17 percent in fiscal 2005 and approximately 16 percent in 2006."
