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Empresas y finanzas

Home Depot profit tops Street; outlook raised


    NEW YORK (Reuters) - Home Depot Inc's quarterly profit beat Wall Street estimates as the top U.S. home-improvement chain benefited from strong demand for gardening products and energy-efficient appliances, prompting it to boost its full-year outlook.

    The news came a day after rival Lowe's Cos gave a disappointing profit forecast for the rest of the year, despite strong quarterly results.

    Home Depot's net income rose to $725 million, or 43 cents a share, in the first quarter ended on May 2 from $514 million, or 30 cents a share, a year earlier.

    Excluding items, the profit was 45 cents a share, beating the analysts' average forecast of 40 cents.

    Sales rose 4.3 percent to $16.86 billion, exceeding Wall Street expectations of $16.37 billion.

    For the full year, the company expects sales to increase about 3.5 percent, up from its prior outlook of a 2.5 percent rise. It raised its forecast for net earnings from continuing operations to $1.88 a share from $1.79.

    (Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)