Home improvement is not just a mildly entertaining sitcom from the 90s. It’s a way of life for some people. They make weekly trips to Home Depot while helping to contribute to the store’s bottom line. Unfortunately for Home Depot, that wasn’t the case after a particularly rough winter killed their retail sales, but the retail giant is on its way back up.
Reuters reports that Home Depot saw an increase in sales in May. In fact, its sales were even described as “robust” which is probably the best thing a company can tell its investors. So, what does “robust” sales look like? The company reported $1.4 billion in net earnings for the first fiscal quarter of the year, or $200,000 more than what it made in Q1 2013.
One of the main contributors to Home Depot’s profits this quarter were all the people buying home improvement supplies to fix their homes following the rough winter most of the nation experienced. One specific example found that concrete sales were on the rise which implies that building contractors are back out on the job again.
“The first quarter was impacted by a slow start to the spring selling season. But we had solid results in non-weather impacted markets and expect our sales for the year to grow in line with the guidance we previously provided,” said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO. “I would like to thank our associates for their hard work and dedication.”
Home Depot is remaining optimistic as it heads into the rest of the year. The company expects to see sales grow by 4.8 percent in the coming fiscal year. While it’s certainly possibly, some investors point to a weak housing market as one reason to be skeptical.
If you want to see the bigger picture, here’s Home Depot’s full report:
Home Depot is currently trading at 77.86 per share, or down 0.13 percent.
Next week, we’ll find out if home owners’ insatiable need for supplies has helped improve Lowes’ bottom line as well.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
