Area Lowe's stores spared in mass closings

Mooresville, N.C.-based Lowe's Cos. Inc. (NYSE: LOW) last week announced it would be closing 20 underperforming stores in 15 states, but Springfield and Missouri have been spared.

Stores in California, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin are affected by the move. Ten of the locations shuttered at the close of business Oct. 16, while the remaining 10 are scheduled for closure within the month, according to a news release.

Lowe's has 48 Missouri stores, according to its Web site. As of June 30, the company operated 1,753 stores in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Roughly 1,950 employees are affected by the closings.

"Closing stores is never easy, given the impact on hard-working employees and local communities," Lowe's Chairman, President and CEO Robert A. Niblock said in the release. "However, we have an obligation to make tough decisions when necessary to improve profitability and strengthen our financial position."

The company is anticipated exit charges of $345 to $415 million for the closings with a financial impact of 17 to 20 cents per diluted share.

Beginning in 2012, the company will scale back its planned store openings to 10 to 15 stores per year in North America from previous expectations of 30 stores per year. Lowe's expects to open 25 stores in 2011.

Lowe's recorded second-quarter net income of $830 million, a slight decrease compared to earnings of $832 million in the same quarter last year. Earnings per diluted share were 64 cents during the quarter, a six-cent uptick, according to a separate news release.

For the six months ended June 30, the company reported profits of $1.29 million, a 2.2 percent drop compared to $1.32 million in the same period of 2010.

Lowe's shares were trading at $21.74 as of 9:07 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $18.07 to $27.45.[[In-content Ad]]