Tuesday May 20 7:50 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Source: Home Depot
The Home Depot Reports 33% Increase in Net Earnings for First Quarter
of Fiscal 1997; 11% Increase in Comparable Store Sales
ATLANTA, May 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Home Depot (NYSE:HD), North America's largest home improvement retailer,
today reported record first quarter net earnings of $259 million ($0.53 per share) for the first quarter of fiscal year 1997. The
net earnings were a 33% increase from net earnings of $195 million ($0.41 per share) in the first quarter of fiscal 1996.
Sales for the first quarter of fiscal 1997 were $5.657 billion, up 30% from $4.362 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 1996.
Comparable store sales for the quarter rose 11% from the previous year. Annualized inventory turnover improved to 5.5
through the first quarter of fiscal 1997 from 5.3 through the first quarter of fiscal 1996.
``Fiscal 1997 is off to a very strong start with our record earnings for the first quarter,'' said Bernard Marcus, The Home Depot
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. ``We are particularly pleased with strong sales trends in the first quarter, which reflect
an earlier start to the spring season versus last year, as well as The Home Depot's success in maximizing sales opportunities by
responding to our customers' needs.''
During the first quarter of fiscal 1997, The Home Depot opened 24 new stores and relocated 1 store. At the end of the
quarter, the company operated a total of 536 stores, including 503 Home Depot stores and 5 EXPO Design Centers in the
U.S. and 28 Home Depot stores in Canada, with an aggregate of approximately 57 million square feet of selling space. During
the quarter, The Home Depot also completed the acquisition of Maintenance Warehouse/America Corp., the leading direct
mail marketer of maintenance, repair and operations products to the U.S. building and facilities management market.
Founded in 1978, The Home Depot is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ``HD'' and is included in
the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For the past four years, the company has been ranked by Fortune magazine as America's
most admired retailer.
THE HOME DEPOT, INC.
STATEMENT OF EARNINGS
FIRST QUARTER
(Unaudited)
(000's Omitted)
Three Months Ended
5/04/97 4/28/96
NET SALES $ 5,657,274 $4,362,215
COST OF MERCHANDISE
SOLD 4,105,480 3,142,285
GROSS PROFIT 1,551,794 1,219,930
OPERATING EXPENSES:
SELLING & STORE OPERATING 1,014,580 815,659
PRE-OPENING 13,039 12,859
GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE 97,605 72,100
TOTAL OPERATING
EXPENSES 1,125,224 900,618
OPERATING INCOME 426,570 319,312
INTEREST AND
INVESTMENT INCOME 9,978 4,126
INTEREST EXPENSE (10,839) (2,329)
INTEREST, NET (861) 1,797
MINORITY INTEREST
(NOTE 1) (2,075) (350)
EARNINGS BEFORE
INCOME TAXES 423,634 320,759
INCOME TAXES 164,800 125,740
NET EARNINGS $ 258,834 $ 195,019
EARNINGS PER SHARE
(NOTE 2) $ 0.53 $ 0.41
WEIGHTED AVERAGE
SHARES - (NOTE 2) 503,218 480,187
Selected Highlights
CUSTOMER TRANSACTIONS 129,744 104,209
AVERAGE SALE ($) $ 43.45 $ 41.86
WEIGHTED AVERAGE WEEKLY
SALES PER STORE $ 834 $ 782
SQUARE FOOTAGE
-- END OF PERIOD 56,722 46,375
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES 273,241 280,590
DEPRECIATION AND
AMORTIZATION 67,395 52,973
Selected Balance Sheet Information
May 4, 1997 April 28, 1996
Cash and Short-Term Investments $ 1,041,540 $ 76,130
Merchandise Inventories 3,249,236 2,530,332
Current Assets 4,724,122 2,940,424
Property and Equipment, Net 5,650,445 4,667,230
Long-Term Investments --- 13,831
Other Assets 174,099 207,889
Total Assets 10,548,666 7,829,374
Current Liabilities 2,731,276 2,058,534
Long-Term Debt 155,534 297,834
Convertible Notes 1,104,000 ---
Stockholders' Equity 6,230,223 5,209,811
NOTE 1: Minority Interest has been reclassified from Selling and Store Operating expenses.
NOTE 2: The Company's 3-1/4% Convertible Subordinated Notes issued in October 1996 were dilutive and, accordingly, net
earnings has been adjusted for tax effected net interest and issue costs on the notes for purposes of calculating earnings per
share. Earnings were adjusted $5,842,000 for the first quarter of fiscal 1997. |
