Home Depot Inc (NYSE: HD), the world's largest network of stores for repair and building materials tools, has improved its profit forecast for the current year, reporting an increase in quarterly sales by 6.6 % due to increased customer spending in terms of improving US housing market.
Home Depot and its smaller rival Lowe's Cos Inc have benefited from the fact that consumers cut back spending on items such as clothing and accessories, and instead began to spend more on repairs and furnishing of their homes.
Sales of existing homes in the US in May and June reached nine-year highs. The data for July will be published next week.
The sales of Home Depot stores in the United States, operating for at least a year, rose 4.7 %, coinciding with the average forecast of analysts polled by Consensus Metrix research firm.
The net income rose $ 2.44 billion, or $ 1.97 per share, in the second quarter ended July 31, from $ 2.23 billion, or $ 1.73 per share, a year earlier.
The net sales rose to $ 26.47 billion from $ 24.83 billion.
The analysts polled by Reuters expected on average a profit of $ 1.97 per share and revenue of $ 26.49 billion.
According to a new forecast of the company, the profit for the fiscal year ending in January, will be $ 6.31 per share compared to the previously expected $ 6.27 per share.
As for the US stock market, it opened Tuesday session with a decline after the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, William Dudley, hinted on the possibility of raising interest rates in September.
By 17.41 GMT, Dow Jones fell 0.20 % to 18 599.69 points, S & P 500 fell 0.31 % to 2 183.46 points, and Nasdaq Composite fell 0.37 % to 5242.78 points.
"The labor market is recovering and we are beginning to see signs of accelerating wage growth, so I think we are approaching the time when it is appropriate to increase short-term rates", - said Dudley, who has a permanent voting right in the Federal Open Market Committee.