Home Depot’s profits grow on garden goods

ATLANTA – The Home Depot said Tuesday that sales of items such as John Deere tractors and pressure washers helped the company turn around losses at its older stores as it posted profits of 9.9 percent in the second quarter.

The nation’s largest home-improvement chain credited a brightening of its stores, an addition of workers on the floor and better products with helping the store grow in the face of strong competition from Lowe’s Cos. Inc.

“They still have a tough road to turn this company around and make it a truly modern retailer,” said Barbara Allen, an analyst for Natexis Bleichroeder. “They’re doing more things right than they were before, which is kind of a backhand compliment.”

Home Depot had company-record earnings of $1.3 billion, or 56 cents a share, up from $1.18 billion, or 50 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

A broad-based combination of improvements at stores nationwide helped propel profits, Chief Financial Officer Carol Tome said. More people are buying color-matching paint, walk-behind lawn mowers and concrete, she said. Customer service also is improving, she said.

More employees are walking the aisles to help customers because they were freed up by more self-checkout machines. About 60,000 people came to a nationwide do-it-yourself workshop in July.