Home Depot tops Street, raises 2013 outlook

ATLANTA —A rebound in seasonal categories helped The Home Depot post double-digit same-store sales in the second quarter as it exceeded its own expectations.

Net sales at the world's largest home improvement retailer increased 9.5% to $22.5 billion in the quarter ended Aug. 4, compared with $20.6 billion in the same quarter last year. Comp-store sales increased 10.7% across the company, and increased 11.4% among domestic stores.

Net earnings for the quarter were $1.80 billion, up 17.2% from $1.53 billion in last year's 14-week second quarter.

"The second-quarter results exceeded our expectations as our business benefited from a rebound in our seasonal categories, continued strength in the core of the store and the recovering housing market in the U.S.," said Frank Blake, chairman and CEO.

The number of customer transactions increased 4.9%. The average ticket for the quarter increased 4.3% to $57.39.

With the strong performance came increased expectations for the 2013 full-year performance. Home Depot raised its guidance for sales to increase 4.5%, and comp-store sales to increase about 6.0% for the year.

Home Depot operates 2,258 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico.