Not a good second quarter

In the second quarter (to 3 August 2012) Lowe’s, the US home improvement chain, recorded sales of US $ 14.2 bn, or 2.0 per cent down on the previous year’s results. However, 1.8 per cent was due to the fact that the recently completed fiscal year had 53 weeks instead of 52; Lowe’s fiscal year always finishes on the Friday closest to the end of the month of January. In the first six months of its fiscal year the number two retailer in the American and global DIY markets saw growth of 2.5 per cent, resulting in sales of US $ 27.4 bn.In comparable terms sales in the second quarter were down by 0.4 per cent overall and by 0.2 per cent in the United States. A like-for-like increase of 1.0 per cent overall and 1.2 per cent in the USA ensued for the first six months.The second quarter also adversely affected the company’s earnings. Net incomes 10.0 per cent down on the same period last year; the figure was 1.3 per cent down in a half-yearly comparison.