ATLANTA ?EUR??,,????'??+ The Home Depot has reported record second quarter net earnings of $1.3 billion ($0.56 per diluted share) for fiscal 2003, compared with net earnings of $1.2 billion ($0.50 per diluted share) in the second quarter of fiscal 2002. Sales for the period increased 10.5 percent to $18.0 billion and comparable store sales increased 2.2 percent. ?EUR??,,????'??The Home Depot's transformation continues to gain traction,?EUR??,,????'?? said Bob Nardelli, chairman, president and CEO. ?EUR??,,????'??We are proud of our associates and the ownership they are taking at the store level as they delivered solid, sequential improvements in our business.?EUR??,,????'?? The Home Depot anticipates sales growth between nine and 12 percent and earnings per diluted share growth between nine and 14 percent. ?EUR??,,????'??In the second quarter, we had 350 million customer transactions,?EUR??,,????'?? Nardelli said. ?EUR??,,????'??Our financial results in the second quarter are proof positive that our transformation is working.?EUR??,,????'?? During the second quarter, The Home Depot opened 39 new stores. At the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2003, the company operated 1,607 stores, including 1,428 Home Depot stores in the United States, 96 in Canada, and 15 in Mexico. The company also operates 53 EXPO Design Centers, five HD Supply stores, 11 HD Landscape Supply stores, and one Home Depot Floor store. Home Depot?EUR??,,????'???s Landscape Supply stores have seven locations in Texas and four in Georgia. These stores are designed to extend the reach of Home Depot's popular garden departments, focusing on the professional landscapers and avid do-it-yourself garden enthusiasts. The layouts of the stores are virtually identical. Each one stocks a wide selection of products ranging from live goods to chemicals and tools to landscaping materials. Each has a heated/cooled space of about 12,000 square feet, complete with a tool rental department, in front of a covered greenhouse. Each site also features a five to seven-acre fenced-in, "Pro-Yard." The stores are set up with separate entrances for the professional landscaper and the do-it-yourself enthusiast. The pro-side of the store features job-lot quantities with bulk items stacked nearby. The other side of the store resembles a greenhouse, complete with exotic plants and flowers.