Home Depot profits climb 10 percent
Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Home Depot Inc. reported a 10 percent jump in second-quarter earnings, crediting sales of energy-efficient products, paint and appliances with helping the company buck the slumping economy. The results, reported on Tuesday, beat Wall Street expectations. The world’s largest home-improvement chain reported record net income for the three months ended July 29 of $924 million, or 39 cents a share. Net income was $838 million, or 36 cents a share, in the same quarter last year.
J.C. Penney Co. posted a second-quarter loss Tuesday, but said improving performance at its department stores, catalog and Eckerd Drugstores will lead to a profit in the third quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations. The company reported a loss of $69 million in the three months ended July 28, compared to a profit of $23 million in the year-ago period. The company did not disclose per-share figures. The loss from continuing operations was $53 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a loss of $19 million, or 10 cents a share, a year earlier.
Deere &Co. reported a 58 percent decline in third-quarter earnings Tuesday and announced production cuts in all divisions, including new cutbacks on farm machinery manufacturing to counter a continued slump in the agricultural economy. The equipment manufacturer earned $71.8 million, or 30 cents a share, for the quarter ended July 31, down from $172.4 million, or 72 cents a share, a year ago. The earnings surpassed Wall Street’s expectations.
Citigroup Inc. will let lay off 3,500 more workers this year because of the economic downturn, adding to the 1,200 layoffs it previously announced. Leah Johnson, a spokeswoman for the New York-based financial services giant, said the cutbacks were necessary because of current market conditions. Last year, Citigroup laid off 7,400 workers, cutting its worldwide staff to about 250,000.
Canadian premiers attending the Western Governors’ Association meeting vowed Tuesday to fight new penalty tariffs on softwood lumber, calling them “protectionist measures by U.S. special interests.” Premiers of six Western Canada provinces issued a statement on the last day of the Western Governors’ Association summer conference, where they were guests of Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, the association’s chairman and a proponent of the 19.3 percent countervailing duties.
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