Home Depot Profits plunge 24 Percent; Outlook Calls For Continued Slump

New York, NY (AHN) - Home Depot's profits dropped 24 percent, which the company attributed to the continued slump in the housing market.

Home Depot said Tuesday that sales fell to $21 billion in the quarter ending Aug. 3, down 5.4 percent over the same period a year ago. The company posted net income of $1.2 billion, or 71 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 3.

That represents a 10-cent drop in shares from a year ago when income was $1.6 billion. That drop, according to a report in money.cnn.com, was due to a nearly 8 percent decline in sales at stores open at least a year - a key measure of industry performance known as same-store sales.

The Atlanta-based chain expects sales to decline 5 percent to about $74.3 billion for the fiscal year ending in January 2009. Earnings per share are expected to fall 24 percent to about $1.73 per share, as reported by mney.cnn.com.