Earnings down

Lowe’s has completed the 2007 trading year with sales of US $ 48.3 bn (€ 32.2 bn). This represents growth of 2.9 per cent on the previous year, with comparable sales 5.1 per cent down. Earnings declined by 9.5 per cent to US $ 2.81 bn (€ 1.87 bn). Fourth-quarter results showed an earnings slump of 33.4 per cent to US $ 408 mio (€ 272 mio), with sales growth of 0.3 per cent to US $ 10.4 bn (€ 6.9 bn), or minus 7.6 per cent like-for-like. At the end of the full trading year Lowe’s had 1 534 stores in the USA and Canada. According to information from the company, its combined retail area expanded by 10.9 per cent to 16.2 mio m².