Home Depot’s $54 million loss in its fourth-quarter represents the first net loss for the nation’s largest home retailer in 27 years.
The loss is tied to Home Depot’s closure of its EXPO design center chain and related side businesses. But excluding that one-time charge, the Atlanta-based retailer says it had earnings of 19 cents-a-share. Even though it represents a drop of more than 50-percent from the previous year, that still beat analysts’ forecasts of 15 cents a share.
The home improvement giant’s recent shuttering of its EXPO stores included layoff’s of 7,000 employees. It’s part of the company’s scale-down of operations, including a focus more on its signature stores.
Home Depot CEO Frank Blake says he expects the home improvement market to be just as challenging this year as in 2008. The company projects total sales to fall about 9 percent going forward.
The loss is tied to Home Depot’s closure of its EXPO design center chain and related side businesses. But excluding that one-time charge, the Atlanta-based retailer says it had earnings of 19 cents-a-share. Even though it represents a drop of more than 50-percent from the previous year, that still beat analysts’ forecasts of 15 cents a share.
The home improvement giant’s recent shuttering of its EXPO stores included layoff’s of 7,000 employees. It’s part of the company’s scale-down of operations, including a focus more on its signature stores.
Home Depot CEO Frank Blake says he expects the home improvement market to be just as challenging this year as in 2008. The company projects total sales to fall about 9 percent going forward.
