Lowe's sees quarterly profits fall

MOORESVILLE, N.C. Lowe's today reported a 33.4% decline in net earnings to $408 million for its fourth quarter ended Feb. 1. Diluted earnings per share declined 30% to 28 cents from 40 cents in the fourth quarter of 2006. For the fiscal year ended February 1, 2008, net earnings declined 9.5% to $2.81 billion while diluted earnings per share declined 6.5% to $1.86.

Lowe's also reported declines in both total sales and comparable-store sales for the quarter. The company said that sales for the period declined 0.3% to just under $10.4 billion. Comparable-store sales for the quarter dropped 7.6%. For the fiscal year sales increased 2.9%to $48.3 billion. Comparable store sales declined 5.1% for fiscal 2007.

"Fourth quarter and fiscal year 2007 sales fell short of our plan as we faced an unprecedented decline in housing turnover, falling home prices in many areas and turbulent mortgage markets that impacted both sentiment related to home improvement purchases as well as consumers' access to capital," explained Robert Niblock, Lowe's chairman and ceo.

For the first quarter of fiscal 2008, Lowe's said it expects total sales to increase by about 11% and comparable-store sales to decline between 5% and 7%. The company expects diluted earnings per share to be in the range of 38 cents to 42 cents.