Home Depot says profit improving on housing market boom

Home Depot Inc. is another beneficiary of the housing boom.

The largest U.S. home-improvement retailer said Wednesday that it would meet a profit-improvement goal one year ahead of schedule, thanks in part to demand created by homeowners.

In June 2012, the company announced a long-term operating margin target of 12% and goal of creating 24% return of invested capital by the end of its 2015 fiscal year. Now, the company said it expects to reach those targets by the end of the 2014 fiscal year.

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Home Depot said it now expects to have an operating margin of 13% by the end of 2015 with a return on invested capital of 27%.

“Thanks to the hard work and dedication of our associates, we expect to meet the financial targets we set out in June of 2012 a year earlier than planned. We have set out a challenging new goal for 2015 and plan to continue to build on our company’s foundation of customer service, product authority and value creation,� said Frank Blake, the company’s chairman and chief executive.

Home Depot shares were up about 1% in morning trading on Wall Street.

The Atlanta company operates more than 2,200 stores in North America. It reported nearly $75 billion in sales for the fiscal year ended in February.

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