Home Depot Q4 profit surges 32%, beating estimates

Atlanta -- The Home Depot Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal fourth-quarter net income jumped 32%, beating expectations, helped by strong U.S. sales and repairs and cleanup resulting from Superstorm Sandy. The chain also said it will buy back $17 billion of its common stock and boosted its quarterly dividend by 34%.



For the period ended Feb. 3, Home Depot Inc. earned $1.02 billion, compared with $774 million a year ago. Revenue climbed 14 percent to $18.25 billion from $16.01 billion, also beating Wall Street's expectations. An extra week in the quarter compared to the previous year figured into both results.



Same-store sales 7.1% in the U.S. (The extra week is not included in these results.)



"We ended the year with a strong performance as our business benefited from a continued recovery in the housing market coupled with sales related to repairs in the areas impacted by Hurricane Sandy," said CEO Frank Blake in a statement.



For the full year, Home Depot reported a 17% increase in net income to $4.54 billion, from $3.88 billion in the previous year. Annual revenue increased 6% to $74.75 billion from $70.4 billion.



Same-store sales rose 4.6% and 4.9% in the United States.