SRS boosts Home Depot in Q2
Boosted by its recent acquisition of SRS Distribution, The Home Depot reported a 0.6 percent increase in second quarter sales.
For the quarter ended July 28, the Atlanta-based giant reported $43.175 billion in sales, up from $43.916 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Total sales include $1.3 billion from the recent acquisition of SRS Distribution, which represents approximately six weeks of sales in the quarter.
Comp-store sales however were down 3.3 percent — and down 3.6 percent domestically.
“During the quarter, higher interest rates and greater macro-economic uncertainty pressured consumer demand more broadly, resulting in weaker spend across home improvement projects,” said Ted Decker, president and CEO.
The Atlanta-based home improvement giant has reported negative comps for the seventh consecutive quarter. That streak follows 46 consecutive quarters (or 11.5 years) of positive comps.
Net income for the second quarter declined 2.1 percent to $4.561 billion.
Looking ahead, Home Depot forecast total sales for the full year to increase 2.5 percent to 3.5 percent, including an extra 53rd week on the calendar. The extra week is projected to provide $2.3 billion to total sales. The acquisition of SRS is expected to contribute $6.4 billion.
The company also lowered it outlook for comparable store sales is for a decline of between 3 percent and 4 percent. Previously, it forecast a decline of about 1 percent.
Despite economic uncertainty and lowered forecast, Decker expressed optimism for the industry in general. "The underlying long-term fundamentals supporting home improvement demand are strong,” he said.
Home Depot expects to add 12 stores in fiscal 2024. At the end of the second quarter, the company operated 2,340 stores and more than 760 SRS branches.
