Home Depot reports 4Q loss of $54M

[February 24, 2009]  ATLANTA, Ga. (AP) -- Home Depot Inc., the nation's largest home improvement retailer, reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $54 million Tuesday mostly due to its plan to shut its four smaller home-improvement brands, but adjusted results topped analysts' estimates.

The Atlanta-based company posted a loss of 3 cents per share. That compares with a profit of $671 million, or 40 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding the charge related to the closings and other items, the retailer's profit was 19 cents per share.

Last month Home Depot said it planned to close Expo Design Centers, YardBIRDS, Design Centers and HD Bath, a bath remodeling business. The company has suffered under the weight of the collapsing housing market as fewer of its customers are buying new homes and spending money on repairs and remodels.

Revenue for the period ended Feb. 1 slid 17 percent to $14.61 billion from $17.66 billion, with same-store sales down 13 percent for the quarter.

Same-store sales, or sales at stores open at least a year, are a key indicator of retailer performance since they measure growth at existing stores rather than newly opened ones.

Analysts forecast a fourth-quarter profit of 15 cents per share on revenue of $14.67 billion.

There was one less week in the quarter compared with the prior-year period.

For the year, earnings fell 49 percent to $2.26 billion, or $1.34 per share, compared with $4.4 billion, or $2.37 per share, a year earlier.

Income from continuing operations dropped to $2.31 billion, or $1.37 per share, compared with $4.21 billion, or $2.27 per share.

Adjusted earnings from continuing operations were $1.78 per share.

Full-year revenue declined 8 percent to $71.29 billion from $77.35 billion, while same-store sales slid 8.7 percent.

Home Depot expects 2009 earnings from continuing operations to fall about 7 percent, which implies earnings of approximately $2.15 billion. The company anticipates full-year total sales down about 9 percent, or to about $64.9 billion.

Analysts predict annual revenue of $66.41 billion.

Amid the economic downturn, Home Depot has said it plans to eliminate 7,000 jobs, or about 2 percent of its 300,000 workers. Most of the cuts affect workers at the four businesses being closed.

Home Depot ran 2,274 retail stores at the end of the fourth quarter.

[Associated Press]

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