Investing.com - The world's largest home improvement retailer Home Depot (N:HD) reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings and revenue ahead of Tuesday's opening bell, sending it shares higher in pre-market trade.
Home Depot said adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.17 in the fourth quarter, beating forecasts for earnings of $1.10 per share and up from earnings of $1.05 per shares in the year-ago period.
Home Depot's fourth quarter revenue totaled $21.0 billion, a 9.5% increase from the fourth quarter of 2014 and beating forecasts for revenue of $20.38 billion.
Comparable store sales for the fourth quarter were positive 7.1%, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 8.9%.
"Our focus on improving the interconnected customer experience, along with solid execution and continued recovery in the U.S. housing market, resulted in record sales and net earnings for 2015," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president.
The retailer announced that its board of directors declared a 17% increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.69 per share.
"As a testament to our commitment to create value for our shareholders, the board has increased the dividend for the seventh consecutive year," said Menear.
For the 2016 fiscal year, Home Depot said a stronger U.S. dollar was expected have a negative impact on net sales growth of approximately $800 million, as well as a negative impact on diluted earnings-per-share growth of approximately $0.06 per share.
Following the release of the report, HD shares jumped 1.36%, or $1.67, in pre-market trade to $124.50 from Monday's closing price $122.83.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was downbeat. The Dow futures pointed to a drop of 17 points, or 0.1%, at the open, the S&P 500 futures indicated a decline of 3 points, or 0.12%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures decreased 11 points, or 0.24%.