Home Depot’s shares traded higher Tuesday on Wall Street after the Atlanta-based home improvement retailer reported profit jumped more than 12 percent in the first quarter of 2014.
The results were stronger despite the impact of wintry weather that lasted longer than usual this year. The results, however, still missed Wall Street expectations.
Shares of Home Depot were up more than 2 percent in trading, to around $78.65 at midday.
The company said its net earnings for the quarter ending May 4 was $1.4 billion or $1 a share. That compared to $1.2 billion or 83 cents a share during the same time last year.
Part of the earnings increase — $61 million or 4 cents a share — were related to the sale of some of the company’s ownership of HD Supply. Without the benefit of the sale, the results missed analysts’ expectations, on average, of 99 cents per share, according to a FactSet survey.
Same-store sales were up 2.6 percent in the quarter, but were hurt by winter weather and missed analysts expectations. The company’s stock rose in early morning trading.
“The first quarter was impacted by a slow start to the spring selling season,” Home Depot Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake said in a release. “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.”
The company also said it expects sales for the full year to be up 4.8 percent over 2013 with earnings per share to rise about 17 percent to $4.42 for the year. In addition, Home Depot said it will repurchase $3.75 billion in additional shares throughout the rest of the year.
Rival Lowe’s Cos. reports results on Wednesday.
