Flooring News and Information

Atlanta, GA, Nov. 13— The Home Depot had record net earnings of $778 million ($0.33 per diluted share) for the third quarter, an increase of 19.7% over net earnings of $650 million ($0.28 per diluted share) in the same period a year ago.

Sales for the third quarter totaled $13.3 billion, an increase of 15.1% from the third quarter of last year. Comparable store sales for the third quarter were flat.

"The Home Depot delivered strong earnings growth and the highest third quarter return on sales in company history," said CEO Robert L. Nardelli. "Thanks to our customers, suppliers and associates, we've been able to stay on strategy and deliver record results despite the turbulent economic environment and a national disaster. This financial performance reflects the strength of our business and the opportunities ahead as we continue to invest for the future."

During the third quarter, Home Depot completed the rollout of its Service Performance Improvement (SPI) initiative to all of its 1,239 Home Depot stores. SPI emphasizes one on one customer service during shopping hours by shifting product receiving to the evening hours. The company also implemented a new merchandising framework to optimize the purchasing function, facilitate vendor partnerships, and deliver greater product value in Home Depot stores. Home Depot also accelerated the rollout of its Pro initiative, adding 108 stores to bring the number of stores with special services for the professional customer to 385.

"We're generating better operational efficiencies while at the same time rededicating ourselves to customer service as we focus on neighborhood family friendly stores," said Nardelli. "Our associates proved again why Home Depot is the market leader in home improvement. In the face of a challenging economy and an aggressive plan to introduce new business processes, our associates' dedication enables us to remain the industry leader in store growth, productivity, and returns for our shareholders."

In October, Home Depot also completed the acquisition of Your "other" Warehouse, one of the country's premier special order plumbing distributors, and announced plans to redeploy assets from its retail operations in Chile and Argentina into Mexico. In addition, the company launched e-commerce initiatives for Expo Design Centers and a pilot partnership with eBay. During the quarter, Home Depot opened 46 new stores, bringing the total store openings year to date to 161. At the end of the third quarter, the company operated a total of 1,295 stores.

The Home Depot indicated it expects to meet the current Wall Street earnings consensus of $0.28 diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter, resulting in earnings per share for the fiscal year of $1.27, a 15% increase over last year.