Lowe’s profits up for quarter

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Lowe’s Cos., the nation’s second-largest home improvement chain, said Monday its first-quarter profit rose 44 percent as the company continued to expand offerings.

The results beat Wall Street estimates but its shares tumbled more than 4 percent as it slightly reduced its guidance for revenue and earnings in the second quarter. Chairman and CEO Robert Niblock said the price decline reflected confusion over a calendar shift that boosted the latest revenue totals.

In a conference call with analysts, Niblock said the company is gaining market share in appliance sales and continues to expand sales of installed products, special orders and commercial sales.

The company also predicts that the real-estate bubble that prompted so much worry in 2005 is going to resolve in a soft landing. Home sales and turnover are essential to retail sales at Lowe’s and competitors like Home Depot Inc.

First-quarter profit jumped to $841 million, or $1.06 per share, in the three months ending May 5 from $586 million, or 73 cents per share, during the same period last year. Revenue grew 20 percent to $11.92 billion from $9.91 billion last year.

Analysts, on average, predicted a profit of 94 cents a share on revenue of $11.84 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.