Home Depot 2001 Annual Report Download - page 5

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 5 of the 2001 Home Depot annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 42

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42

3
Having completed my first full year with this wonderful organization, I am more excited about this business and
the opportunities for growth than ever before. In fact, I believe we have an infinite capacity for growth and value
creation. My goal, when I arrived a year ago, was to build on this company’s established tradition of growth,
customer trust, corporate values, and brand recognition as the leader in home improvement retailing.
Since then, my confidence in the strength of The Home Depot has been confirmed and reconfirmed. Despite
a turbulent economy that included massive corporate downsizings, consumer confidence hitting an eight-year
low and the unthinkable disaster of September 11th, the 250,000 associates of The Home Depot delivered on
our promise of improved performance in fiscal 2001. Not only did we stay on strategy, we embraced many new
initiatives, accelerated existing programs, and delivered record results … all while implementing a seamless
transition in executive leadership.
2001 IN REVIEW
In many ways, this year’s performance speaks for itself:
• Sales reached record levels, growing 17% to $53.6 billion. In fiscal 2001, The Home Depot became the
second-largest retailer in the U.S.
• Net earnings grew 18% to exceed $3 billion for the first time, reaching $1.29 per share. Fiscal 2001 results
included the second highest return on sales in company history.
•Cash reached a record $2.5 billion at year-end. Taken together with a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.9%,
The Home Depot has one of the strongest balance sheets in retail, funding our ability to reinvest and
generate additional growth.
•The Home Depot share price increased by 12.4%, outperforming both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average, and ranking sixth among the Dow 30.
•In the fourth quarter, we increased the annual dividend 25%, allowing stockholders to benefit from the
strong cash flows we produce.
•We reinvested more than $3.3 billion into our business through new stores, systems enhancements, and
other initiatives.
•The Home Depot opened 204 new stores and added 40,000 incremental associates to staff them at a time
when many corporations were downsizing.
In addition, we achieved several new milestones:
•Our loyal customers came to us for more than 1 billion transactions in a year for the first time ever.
•The Home Depot became the youngest retailer ever to reach $50 billion in revenue.
•We were named “#1 Specialty Retailer”by Fortune Magazine for the ninth consecutive year and “#6 Most
Admired” company in America for the second consecutive year. Among the Top Ten Most Admired,
The Home Depot was ranked fourth in return to stockholders.
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS: