Profit up in Home Depot’s second quarter

After struggling in the first part of the year, the Atlanta-based retailer said its home and garden segment rebounded strongly — despite the rain — and helped boost profit more than 17 percent.

Sales rose 9.5 percent to $22 billion for the period.

Home Depot also benefitted from the effects of resurgent home building, the addition of Samsung and Whirlpool to expanded appliance showrooms in 120 stores and more spending per visit by customers, the company said.

In addition, lingering business created by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy added another $47 billion to revenues.

“There’s not just one thing you can point to, it’s a number of things,” said Carol Tome, Home Depot’s chief financial officer. She added that the home and garden segment came back “in a big way, even here in Atlanta.”

In research notes on the quarter, Sanford Bernstein Research analyst Colin McGranaham said, “Overall the quarter was solid, a performance that has become the norm for the high quality retailer. While the stock is richly valued, HD continues to deliver strong results with high visibility, and especially relative to the rest of retail…”

The improved performance is a continuation of the turnaround for the home improvement giant, which struggled during the recession and housing bust.

Home Depot said net profit for the quarter was $1.8 billion, or $1.24 a share. That’s up from $1.5 billion or $1.01 a share a year earlier.

The company, for the second time this year, raised its 2013 sales guidance upward. It now expects sales to increase 4.5 percent from 2012 and earnings to come in at $3.60 a share for the full year.

“The second quarter results exceeded our expectations as our business benefited from a rebound in our seasonal categories, continued strength in the core of the store and the recovering housing market in the U.S.,” said Frank Blake, Home Depot’s chairman and chief executive officer.