Home Depot tops second-quarter estimates on steady repair demand

Aug 18 (Reuters) - Home Depot beat ‌Wall Street ​estimates for ​second-quarter sales and profit on Tuesday, as resilient demand for smaller repair-and-maintenance projects helped offset a sluggish U.S. housing market.

The world's ‌largest home-improvement retailer said sales increased 5.7% to $47.86 billion in the ⁠three months ended August 2, topping analysts' expectations of $47.27 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Stubbornly ‌high interest rates have pushed ‌homeowners toward small-scale repair and maintenance projects such as painting and yard work, boosting demand at Home Depot.

The prolonged slump in the U.S. housing market ​has been the biggest drag on the home-improvement industry. Hopes for a recovery this year have been dampened as affordability concerns keep away prospective ⁠buyers.

Home Depot offers products across a broad price spectrum, from roughly $5 to upwards of $5,000, with an average ​basket size of about $90.

The company's shares rose about 1% in choppy premarket trading.

Home Depot stuck to its annual sales and profit ​forecasts, and said it expects tariff refunds ‌to counter the impact of higher-than-expected fuel and other input costs during the year.

On an adjusted basis, the company reported quarterly ⁠earnings per share of $4.92. Analysts expected a per-share profit of $4.73.

Home Depot expects annual comparable sales of about flat to up 2%, and adjusted earnings per share of about ⁠flat to up 4%.

The company kicks off earnings reports from big-ticket retailers that could shed light ​on the health of the U.S. consumer, as the war with Iran intensifies cost-of-living concerns. Closest rival Lowe's and Target report on Wednesday, followed by Walmart a day later.

Last ‌week, Home Depot said CEO Ted Decker, 63, will take a temporary medical leave of absence, with Chief Financial Officer ‌Richard McPhail and Senior Executive Vice President Ann-Marie Campbell overseeing his duties.

Decker, whose condition ⁠was not disclosed, is expected ‌to return within the next ​few months and will not join the post-earnings call, a spokesperson confirmed to Reuters.

(Reporting by Angela Christy in Bengaluru; Editing by ‌Sriraj Kalluvila)

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