Home Depot’s profit rises on storm spending

Home Depot says spending on home projects and storm-related repairs helped boost its third-quarter net income 12 percent.

Home-improvement retailers are facing cautious consumer spending and a weak housing market. Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc.'s smaller rival Lowe’s Cos. reported Monday its third-quarter net income fell 44 percent on restructuring costs.

But Home Depot fared better. Its results beat expectations and the company raised its 2011 earnings outlook.

The No. 1 U.S. home-improvement retailer says net income rose 12 percent to $934 million, or 60 cents per share. That compares with $834 million, or 51 cents per share, last year.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $17.33 billion from $16.6 billion last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected net income of 59 cents per share on revenue of $17.11 billion.