21:05 27/02/24
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US home improvement retailer lowe's on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter sales of $18.6 billion, down 17.1% from a year earlier, in line with analyst expectations.
GAAP earnings for the quarter were $1.0 billion, down from $1.58 billion in the year-ago period, resulting in earnings per share of $1.77, 6.2% higher than analysts expected.
Lowe's reported a 6.2% decline in comparable sales for the quarter. This can be attributed to the reduced demand for DIY projects and the bad winter weather in January.
As of February 2, it operated 1,746 stores, an increase of just eight stores over the past 12 months.
During the quarter, Lowe's repurchased 1.9 million shares valued at $404 million, for a total of 29.9 million shares repurchased during the year for $6.3 billion.
In addition to the stock buyback, Lowe's distributed dividends of $633 million in the fourth quarter and $2.5 billion in fiscal 2023, bringing total returns to shareholders to $8.9 billion.
Looking ahead, Lowe's acknowledged near-term macroeconomic uncertainty in its 2024 outlook, setting expectations for total sales of $84 billion to $85 billion.
This was 1.3% below analysts' expectations and indicated a 2.2% decline compared to 2023.
While comparable sales are expected to decline by 2% to 3%, the operating profit margin is expected to be 12.6% to 12.7%.
Diluted earnings per share for 2024 was set at between $12 and $12.30, with capital expenditures of approximately $2 billion.
“Despite continued declines in DIY spending, we delivered strong operating income and improved customer satisfaction in the quarter,” said Chairman Marvin Ellison.
“We remain confident in the long-term strength of the home improvement market and are making appropriate investments in our 'Total Home' strategy to capture market share.
“We are also pleased to award $140 million in discretionary bonuses to our frontline employees in recognition of their outstanding customer service in 2023.”
At 8:10 a.m. ET (1:10 p.m. Japan time), shares of Lowe's Companies fell 0.57% to $230.00 in pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Report by Josh White of Sharecast.com.