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Home Depot defied naysayers with stronger-than-expected sales for Q4 2016, and sales scheduled to may be poised to stay on track thanks to rebounding home sales.
The home-improvement retailer came out with the news in a report Tuesday that profits had leapt to $1.44 a share over that time period, capturing $1.7 billion in net earnings.
Those numbers are up from $1.17 per share and $1.5 billion in net earnings reported in fiscal year 2015. The change reflects a 5.8-percent increase year-over-year.
In a statement, Home Depot CEO Craig Menear credited a consumer-related focus for the good news.
“Our focus on providing localized and innovative product selection, improving the interconnected customer experience, and driving productivity resulted in record sales and net earnings for 2016,” Menear said.
According to reports, market watchers had expectations that Home Depot wouldn’t see such success on the heels of rising mortgage rates.
“The market had growing fears around trends in the home-improvement category due to rising interest rates and a commensurate drop in mortgage refinancing—which is often used for larger projects,” Bloomberg News reported David Schick, Research Director for Consumer Edge Research, as saying by email.
“Home Depot fourth-quarter results and guidance reconfirmed consistent demand and the structural strength of their business model,” said Schick to Retail Dive.
With home prices up over the course of the last few years, more consumers were willing to invest in remodeling and home repairs, experts have said.
In its earnings report, the home-improvement retailer said it planned to reward shareholders this new fiscal year.
The company also forecasted that sales would increase 4.6 percent this year, furnishing roughly $99 billion in revenue.
