Home Depot 2Q profit climbs 14 percent

ATLANTA (AP) -- Home Depot's fiscal second-quarter net income surged 14 percent thanks to a rebound in its spring selling season.<br /> <br /> The nation's largest home improvement retailer also raised its annual profit guidance Tuesday.<br /> <br /> Spring is the biggest season for home-improvement retailers, as homeowners and others work on their yards and gardens. While the season started off a bit cold and rainy, weather improved and shoppers headed out to stores to pick up supplies. In particular, purchases over $900 like appliances and water heaters, which account for 20 percent of total U.S. sales, rose 8 percent.<br /> <br /> "These results support the view of a continued recovery in the U.S. home-improvement market," Frank Blake, Home Depot's CEO, told investors during its earnings call.<br /> <br /> Home Depot also has been helped of late by an improving U.S. housing market. Home prices have started to rise, and there's been steady job growth and fewer troubled loans dating back to the housing-bubble days. While the housing market has recently had a bit of trouble maintaining that momentum, many home owners are spending more to renovate their homes.

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