Sales for the quarter increased 2.1% percent to $12.2 billion, up from $11.9 billion in the first quarter of 2006. Comparable store sales for the first quarter declined 6.3 percent.

“Multiple factors, including a difficult housing market in many areas, tough comparisons to hurricane rebuilding efforts, and significant lumber and plywood price deflation, continued to create a challenging sales environment in the first quarter,” Robert A. Niblock, Lowe’s chairman and CEO, said. “Those anticipated factors were compounded by mixed weather during the quarter. Mild temperatures and solid sales in March were more than offset by record cold and wet weather across much of the U.S. during the first two weeks of April. While the weather improved in the second half of the month, the drag created by the first two weeks substantially contributed to our sales shortfall to plan.