Dip in Home Depot earnings

Home Depot’s business is still suffering from the effects of the American sub-prime mortgage crisis in the third quarter of 2007. The Number 1 has announced a 3.5 per cent drop in sales to US $ 18.961 bn (€ 12.931 bn) on the same period last year. Sales were down by 6.2 per cent like-for-like. Net earnings slipped 26.8 per cent to US $ 1.091 bn (€ 744 mio). Home Depot reports sales of US $ 59.690 bn (€ 40.708 bn) for the first nine months of the current 2007 financial year, which amounts to a drop of 3.1 per cent. Earnings declined by 23.0 per cent to US $ 3.724 bn (€ 2.540 bn). Home Depot had a total of 2 224 retail outlets at the end of the third quarter, and 1 943 of them were DIY and home improvement stores.