Shares of home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. (NYSE: LOW) were trading slightly higher in early trading, despite posting a decline of 33.4% in its fourth-quarter profit. The nation's second biggest home improvement retailer reported that its quarterly profit slipped 33% to $408 million, or 28 cents a share, hurt by the weak U.S. housing market. These numbers were down $613 million or 40 cents per share reported in the same period a year ago. Despite the 33% decline, the company was still able to beat analyst estimates of 25 cents a share in the quarter.
The company showed a drop in its fourth-quarter revenue to $10.38 billion, down from $10.41 billion a year earlier. Analysts forecast revenue of $10.85 billion in the quarter, according to Thomson Financial. The drop in revenue came as the retailer had to face a difficult consumer environment brought by the U.S. housing market slowdown and credit crisis.
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