Lowe’s 3Q net income climbs on fewer charges

MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Lowe’s third-quarter net income surged 76 percent, helped by fewer charges and higher revenue. The home improvement retailer also reaffirmed its full-year forecast.

Its adjusted earnings without charges and its revenue both beat Wall Street forecasts. Its shares rose 5 percent in early premarket trading Monday.

Lowe’s earned $396 million, or 35 cents per share, for the three months ended Nov. 2. That compares with $225 million, or 18 cents per share, a year ago.

The current quarter includes charges that lowered earnings by 5 cents per share. In the prior-year period, charges reduced earnings by 18 cents per share.

The adjusted earnings of 40 cents per share beat the 36 cents per share that analysts polled by FactSet predicted.

Revenue rose 2 percent to $12.07 billion from $11.85 billion. That also beat Wall Street’s estimate of $11.93 billion.

Shares of Lowe’s gained $1.60, or 5 percent, to $33.58 in premarket trading.

Revenue at stores open at least a year, a key gauge of a retailer’s health, increased 1.8 percent. At its U.S. stores, the metric climbed by the same percentage rate. This figure excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

For fiscal 2012, Lowe’s still expected earnings of about $1.64 per share and revenue to be approximately the same as 2011’s $50.21 billion. Analysts forecast earnings of $1.66 per share on revenue of $50.1 billion.

Last week rival Home Depot Inc. reported slightly higher third-quarter net income and the company raised its full-year forecast.

Lowe’s Cos., which is based in Mooresville, N.C., has 1,750 stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.