The Home Depot (NYSE: HD), Altanta, GA, reported sales for the first quarter ended May 5, 2013, of $19.1 billion, a 7.4 percent increase from the first quarter of fiscal 2012. Profit increased 20 percent to $1.2 billion.
On a like-for-like basis, comparable store sales for the first quarter were up 4.3 percent, and sales for U.S. stores were up 4.8 percent.
"In the first quarter, we saw less favorable weather compared to last year, but we continue to see benefit from a recovering housing market that drove a stronger-than-expected start to the year for our business," said Frank Blake, chairman & CEO.
At the end of the first quarter, the company operated 2,257 retail stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Home Depot employs more than 300,000 associates.
