Home Depot officials said Tuesday they are confident the huge retail chain will feel little or no impact from the coronavirus until late spring.
During interviews arranged to report results of the Atlanta-based company's fiscal year, which ended Jan. 29, executives declined to speculate about the extent of the disruption the virus will cause or when an impact would be felt.
"We are watching every part of this," Richard McPhail, the company's chief financial officer, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I think it's just too early to speculate."
Worry about the six-week-old outbreak sent stocks plunging Monday and early Tuesday.
And while only a handful of Americans have contracted the virus, officials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta warned Tuesday that Americans should expect significant disruptions as the disease spreads to the United States.
Home Depot is working with suppliers and believes all the materials it needs for the current quarter have either arrived or are on their way, he said. “We are working container by container, purchase order by purchase order.”
Roughly 70% of the materials that Home Depot buys are produced in the United States, he said.
The company, the largest based in Georgia, reported-fourth quarter revenues of $25.8 billion compared to $26.5 billion during the same three months a year earlier. Net earnings for the quarter were $2.5 billion, compared to net earnings of $2.3 billion, in the same quarter a year earlier.
The company finished the fiscal year with sales of $110.2 billion, up from $108.2 billion during the previous fiscal year. Net earnings for the year were $11.2 billion, compared to net earnings of $11.1 billion during the previous year.
Home Depot has 2,291 stores and more than 400,000 employees.
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