At Lowe's, sales increase and earnings surge

Mooresville, North Carolina-based Lowe's Cos. reported net earnings of $450 million for the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30, a 47.0% increase over the same period a year ago. Sales for the quarter increased 7.6% to $12.5 billion, up from $11.7 billion in the year-ago quarter.

"We remain focused on improving our profitability even while investing in key capabilities to drive sales growth," said Robert Niblock, the company chairman, president and CEO.  "Our transformation is gaining momentum, and macroeconomic fundamentals are aligned for modestly stronger home improvement industry growth in 2015."

Comparable sales for the quarter increased 7.3% total, and 7.4% for the U.S. business.

Lowe's earnings report came out the day after rival Home Depot reported slightly higher comp-store sales, and about three-times Lowe's fourth quarter earnings. However, Lowe's quarterly earnings growth exceeded that of Home Depot --  47% vs. 36.1%.

As of Jan. 30, 2015, Lowe's operated 1,840 home improvement and hardware stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico representing 200.9 million square feet of retail selling space.

For the full year, sales were $56.2 billion, a 5.3% increase over the same period a year ago. Comparable sales increased 4% on a consolidated basis and for the U.S. business.

For the full year, net earnings increased 18.0% to $2.7 billion.

Lowe's said it expects to open 15 to 20 home improvement and hardware stores in 2015. That would outpace Home Depot's plans for six new stores in the coming year. Included in Lowe's plans is growth for its Orchard Supply Hardware division, which operates stores that measure about half the size of a typical Lowe's.

Like Home Depot, Lowe's expects sales growth to continue in 2015, but not at the same pace as 2014. Total sales are expected to increase 4.5% to 5%, according to Lowe's full-year forecast. Comparable sales are expected to increase 4% to 4.5%.