Home Depot Reports Strong Earnings

ATLANTA ?EUR??,,????'??+ The Home Depot Inc., reported Tuesday that its second-quarter earnings jumped more than 14 percent from the first quarter 2005.

Chief executive Bob Nardelli said Home Depot over time plans to increase its business catering to professional contractors, though he was quick to point out that the company has worked hard to appeal to a broad customer base.

“We will never lose our focus on the core,” Nardelli said.

Home Depot earned $1.77 billion, or 82 cents a share, for the three months ending July 31, compared to a profit of $1.55 billion, or 70 cents a share, for the same period a year ago.

Home Depot has 1,940 stores in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It plans to expand to China.