ATLANTA -- The Home Depot®, the world's largest home improvement retailer, today reported that comparable store sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 4.4 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 4.9 percent.

Total sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 were $17.7 billion, a 3.0 percent decrease from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. The fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 consisted of 13 weeks compared with 14 weeks of sales in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. The 14th week added approximately $1.2 billion in sales for the fourth quarter and fiscal year in 2012. Excluding the additional week in 2012, sales for the fourth quarter were up 3.9 percent from the prior year.

Net earnings for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 were $1.0 billion, or $0.73 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $1.0 billion, or $0.68 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2012, reflecting a 7.4 percent increase in diluted earnings per share. The 14th week in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 increased earnings per diluted share by approximately $0.07 in the fourth quarter and fiscal year in 2012. Excluding the 14th week in the prior year, earnings per diluted share increased by 19.7 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.

Fiscal 2013

Sales for fiscal year 2013 were $78.8 billion, an increase of 5.4 percent from fiscal year 2012. Excluding the 53rd week in the prior fiscal year, sales for fiscal year 2013 increased 7.2 percent from fiscal 2012. Total company comparable store sales for fiscal year 2013 increased 6.8 percent, and comp sales for U.S. stores were positive 7.5 percent for the year.

Earnings per diluted share in fiscal year 2013 were $3.76, compared to $3.00 per diluted share in fiscal year 2012, an increase of 25.3 percent. Excluding the 53rd week in the prior fiscal year, earnings per diluted share increased by 28.3 percent.

"In 2013, we posted our strongest comp sales growth in 14 years as solid execution and the recovering housing market aided our performance," said Frank Blake, chairman & CEO. "I'd like to thank our associates for their hard work and commitment to our customers."

Dividend Increase

The Company today announced that its board of directors declared a 21 percent increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.47 cents per share. "As a testament to our commitment to create value for our shareholders, the board increased the dividend for the fifth time in as many years," said Blake. "Increasing the dividend reflects our continued strategy to target a dividend payout ratio of 50 percent." The dividend is payable on March 27, 2014, to shareholders of record on the close of business on March 13, 2014. This is the 108th consecutive quarter the Company has paid a cash dividend.

Fiscal 2014 Guidance

The Company provided the following guidance for fiscal year 2014:

Sales growth of approximately 4.8 percent

Comparable store sales growth of approximately 4.6 percent

Seven new stores

Flat gross margin

Operating margin expansion of approximately 70 basis points

Tax rate of approximately 37 percent

Share repurchases of approximately $5 billion

Diluted earnings-per-share growth after anticipated share repurchases of approximately 16.5 percent to $4.38

Capital spending of approximately $1.5 billion

Depreciation and amortization of approximately $1.8 billion

Cash flow from the business of approximately $8.8 billion

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Company operated a total of 2,263 retail stores in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, 10 Canadian provinces and Mexico. The Company employs more than 300,000 associates. The Home Depot's stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: HD) and is included in the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor's 500 index.