Home Depot, the home improvement store chain, had to cut its full-year outlook for 2007 after financial results came in somewhat weaker than expected in Q3. The company posted a 27% drop in quarterly profit, citing “tough environment” as the main reason. Net earnings dropped to $0.60 per diluted share, compared to $0.73 a year ago. Sales dropped 3.5% compared to the third quarter of 2006, “reflecting negative comparable store sales of 6.2%, offset in part by sales from new stores”, according to the retailer’s press release. Earnings per share are expected to decline by 11% in fiscal 2007, adjusted downwards from September’s forecast for a 9% decline.
“We started the year with a more pessimistic view of the housing and home improvement markets than many. It turns out we were not pessimistic enough”, said Chairman and CEO Frank Blake. Well, Home Depot is not the only company that wasn’t “pessimistic enough”.
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