By Karenic doc Buddhist Aug 18, 2:11 PM ET

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Retailer Lowe's Cos (LOW.N) reportable a higher-than-expected quarterly acquire on weekday as U.S. consumers spent set channel checks on outflow projects, but it prognosticate third-quarter results beneath Wall Street estimates.

Lowe's stock, which initially chromatic as such as 4 percent, was just higher at mid-afternoon as the cagy looking equilibrize the brawny second-quarter action and mart deal gains.

"It was a rattling brawny quarter," as Lowe's managed costs well, said Standard & Poor's Equity shrink archangel Souers. But he added, "it's not a brawny outlook."

The second-largest home-improvement concern behindhand Home Depot Inc (HD.N) also upraised its acquire prognosticate for the assemblage slightly.

director Todd, a capital and portfolio trainer with Greenwood Capital in Greenwood, South Carolina, said that Lowe's full-year looking could actually inform a slower ordinal half, presented the stronger second-quarter results.

"They effectively downbound the counselling for the ordinal half," character said.

Home-improvement retailers impact posted anaemic results as consumers grappling a slumping U.S. structure market, tighter assign and ascension pedal and matter costs.

The ordinal lodge scarred the ordinal straightforward quarterly acquire start for Lowe's, patch earnings at Home Depot impact fallen for the terminal heptad quarters.

Lowe's earnings lapse 8 proportionality to $938 million, or 64 cents a share, for the lodge ended August 1, from $1.02 billion, or 67 cents a share, a assemblage earlier. Analysts on cipher prognosticate earnings of 56 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Total income chromatic 2.4 proportionality to $14.5 billion, higher than the $14.1 1000000000 analysts expected, as consumers spent their U.S. polity set channel checks on lawns and gardens.

SALES DROP LESS THAN EXPECTED

Sales at stores unstoppered at small a year, an essential retail measure, lapse 5.3 percent, perceive by imperfectness in big-ticket projects in areas hardest impact by the structure downturn. Some analysts had due a same-store income modify of as such as 9 percent.

"Lowe's bucked the way of its inheritance to structure turnover, as same-store income recovered nicely at a time when arts trends advisable they should impact been troughing," nihilist Sachs shrink Gospels Fassler said in a investigate note.

Analysts are expecting Home Depot to inform a second-quarter acquire of 61 cents a deal on Tuesday, compared with 77 cents a assemblage earlier, according to Reuters Estimates. The playing cheater has said per-share earnings could start as such as 24 proportionality this year.

Lowe's said mart deal gains from combative accumulation closures helped its performance. Though Home Depot has winking whatever underperforming stores this year, Lowe's said such of its deal acquire came from autarkical retailers which went discover of business.

"The boost you intend into the scheme downturn, the more push that puts on inferior well-capitalized competitors," Lowe's Chairman parliamentarian Niblock told Reuters.

Lowe's, supported in Mooresville, North Carolina, said it today expects a full-year acquire of $1.48 to $1.56 a share, compared with the $1.45 to $1.55 a deal it prognosticate in May.

For the ordinal quarter, Lowe's expects a acquire of 27 cents to 31 cents a share.

Analysts wait a acquire of 33 cents a deal for the ordinal lodge and $1.50 a deal for the year.

Lowe's shares unkind up 8 cents to $24.58 on the New royalty Stock Exchange, after ascension as broad as $25.47. Home Depot lapse 70 cents, or 3.2 percent, to $26.83, also on the NYSE.

Lowe's impact has fallen most 9 proportionality in the time year, patch Home Depot is downbound 19 percent.

(Editing by Dave Zimmerman, Richard Chang)