Negative trend

Home Depot recorded downturns in both sales and earnings for fiscal 2008. Sales declined by 7.8 per cent compared with the previous year (8.7 per cent like-for-like) to US $ 71.3 bn. The company puts a figure of US $ 2.260 bn on net earnings, amounting to 48.6 per cent less than the previous year. For the fourth quarter of 2008 the world’s largest DIY retailer reveals a sales drop of 17.3 per cent (13.0 per cent like-for-like) to US $ 14.6 bn. Home Depot reports a net loss of US $ 54 mio for the final quarter. This compares with the same period in 2007, when net earnings of US $ 671 mio were achieved.