Home improvement retailer reports lower net earnings, sales in third quarter.

A day after fellow home improvement retailer Lowe’s (NYSE: LOW, Stock Forum) reported its results, Atlanta-based Home Depot (NYSE: HD, Stock Forum) released its Q3 numbers Tuesday, including a decline in consolidated net earnings.
The company reported third quarter consolidated net earnings of $756 million, or 45 cents per diluted share, compared with $1.1 billion, or 60 cents per diluted share, in the same period last year. Earnings per diluted share from continuing operations in the third quarter were also 45 cents, compared to 59 cents per diluted share in the third quarter of 2007.
Sales for the third quarter fell 6.2% to $17.8 billion in the quarter, compared with Q3 2007.
"The housing and home improvement markets remain challenging. Across our entire business, we are making the adjustments necessary to respond to a tough market environment," said Frank Blake, the company’s chairman and CEO.
For the 2008 fiscal year, the company says sales could be down as much as 8%, given the “continued softness in the housing and home improvement markets as well as negative macro economic conditions.” Home Depot also expects that earnings per share from continuing operations will decline by approximately 24%.
Shares of Home Depot closed down 2.6% to $20.00 Monday.