Home Depot's Sales Lifted by Larger Customer Transactions -- Update

By Kimberly Chin 

Home Depot Inc.'s sales rose in the fiscal first quarter, lifted by a rise in the number of customer transactions and stronger spending per visit.

The home-improvement retailer's overall sales rose 5.7% to $26.38 billion for the quarter ended May 5 from the comparable quarter a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv expected sales of $26.22 billion.

The number of customer transactions rose 3.8% and average ticket prices, or the amount of money customers spent per visit, rose 2%. Meanwhile, same-store sales, or comparable-store sales -- a common metric in retail based on revenue at stores open at least one year -- rose 2.5%. Analysts polled by Consensus Metrix expected a 4.3% rise. Still, customer transactions and average ticket prices rose.

The company said unfavorable weather in February as well as a drop in lumber prices put pressure on its underlying performance in the quarter.

However, the company reaffirmed its full-year guidance, signalling it expects an improvement in the second quarter and comparable sales growth to pick up pace for the rest of the year, said Zachary Fadem, a Wells Fargo & Co. analyst in a note.

Home Depot reported net income of $2.51 billion, or $2.27 a share, up from $2.4 billion, or $2.08 a share, a year earlier. Profit was lifted by higher sales and lower expenses from interest and investment income compared with the year before, Home Depot said. Analysts projected earnings of $2.20 a share.

Shares of Home Depot were flat in premarket trading on low trading volumes.

Home-improvement rival Lowe's Cos. is due to release its first-quarter report Wednesday.

Write to Kimberly Chin at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 21, 2019 08:53 ET (12:53 GMT)

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