Mooresville, NC, Feb. 23--Lowe’s Companies today reported net earnings of $407 million for the quarter ended January 30, 2004, a 27.6 percent increase over the same period a year ago.
Diluted earnings per share increased 27.5 percent to $0.51 from $0.40 in the fourth quarter of 2002. For the year ended January 30, net earnings grew 27.6 percent to $1.88 billion while diluted earnings per share increased 26.5 percent to $2.34.
Sales for the quarter increased 20.1 percent to $7.25 billion, up from $6.04 billion in the fourth quarter of 2002.
Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter increased 7.3 percent. For the year ended January 30, sales increased 18.1 percent to $30.8 billion. Comparable store sales increased 6.7 percent for fiscal 2003. All sales figures are from continuing operations and exclude sales from the Contractor Yard locations.
On January 30, 2004, Lowe's completed the previously announced sale of 26 commodity-focused locations operating under the Contractor Yard name. The Contractor Yard locations are reported as discontinued operations in the Consolidated Statements of Current and Retained Earnings.
"This year's outstanding results are further evidence that Lowe's strategic course is a proven success," said Robert L. Tillman, Lowe's chairman and CEO. "Our employees' diligent efforts led to what was among the best two year performances in all of retail. We're confident we have our finger on the pulse of consumer and business trends and will continue to build on our successful operating model to maintain our premier position in retailing well into the future."
"Despite the weather-driven challenges we faced in the first quarter of 2003, our management team and dedicated employees kept their eye on the ball and delivered an outstanding year on top of a phenomenal performance in 2002," explained Lowe's President Robert A. Niblock. "We continue to see strong results from our metro-market expansion, and our up-the-continuum merchandising strategy and branding initiatives continue to provide our customers the best products and services to meet their home improvement needs. The key ingredient in this formula remains our outstanding customer service, which we continue to deliver in an inspirational store environment."
During the quarter, Lowe's opened 47 new stores, including one relocation. As of January 30, Lowe's operated 952 stores in 45 states representing 108.8 million square feet of retail selling space, a 14.8 percent increase over last year.
