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''Al'' has been shopping again ..!! . Lowe's Reports Big Quarter

By TSC Staff
2/27/2006 7:20 AM EST


Lowe's (LOW:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) extended the home-improvement sector's strong season Monday, reporting better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and raising guidance.

Lowe's earned $695 million, or 87 cents a share, in the quarter ended Feb. 3, up 36.8% from earnings of $508 million, or 64 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 26.4% from last year to $10.8 billion. Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of 80 cents a share on sales of $10.44 billion in the latest period.





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Same-store sales rose 7.8% in the quarter, compared with a year ago.

The report comes about a week after rival Home Depot (HD:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) reported similarly stellar numbers, saying fourth-quarter profit rose 23% to 60 cents a share, beating estimates by 4 cents.

For the current quarter, Lowe's expects to earn 92 cents to 94 cents a share, compared with the Thomson First Call consensus estimate of 88 cents a share. For the second fiscal quarter, it expects to earn $1.22 to $1.25 a share, compared with the consensus estimate of $1.24 a share. For the current fiscal year, the company expects to earn $4.03 to $4.13 a share, compared with estimates of $3.95 a share.

Same-store sales are expected to rise 5% to 7% in the current quarter and 5% to 6% in the coming year.

"As we continue to monitor the changing economic environment, including housing-related metrics, employment, real wage growth and demographic trends, we have confidence in our future performance as the outlook for home improvement spending remains strong," the company said.