Lowe's tops 4Q, ups targets
Home improvement chain sees better than expected 1Q, '03 revenue and profits.
February 25, 2002: 7:05 a.m. ET
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NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Home improvement retailer Lowe's Companies Inc. topped earnings forecasts for the fourth quarter and said it expects to exceed Wall Street's sales and profit expectations for the first quarter and fiscal 2003 as well.
The Wilkesboro, N.C.-based retailer, earned net income of $218.4 million, or 28 cents a diluted share, in the quarter ending Feb. 1, up 55 percent from the $140.8 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call were looking for earnings per share of 25 cents in the most recent period.
The company also said it expects first quarter EPS of between 35 and 36 cents, topping the First Call forecast of 34 cents and the 29 cents a share it earned in the year-ago period. Lowe's expects earnings per share of $1.55 to $1.58 in the fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2003, up from the $1.30 a share it earned in the recently completed fiscal year, as well as First Call's EPS forecast of $1.53.
Revenue at the company rose 15.6 percent in the fourth quarter to $5.3 billion from $4.5 billion a year earlier. That also topped First Call's forecast of $5.2 billion.
Lowe's said it expects to see first quarter revenue growth of 20 to 21 percent, which would put sales in the quarter at $6.3 billion to $6.4 billion, topping the First Call forecast of $6.1 billion.
The company also expects to see full-year revenue growth of about 19 percent, which would put full-year sales at about $26.3 billion, topping First Call's forecast of $26.1 billion.
Shares of Lowe's (LOW: Research, Estimates) gained 54 cents to $46.05 in trading Friday. 
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