Home Depot Inc., the world's largest home-improvement retailer, on Tuesday reported better-than- expected earnings for the third quarter, as the recovery of the U. S. housing market promoted spending on home repairs.

Net income in the fiscal quarter ended Oct. 28 reached 947 million U.S. dollars, up 1.4 percent from a year ago, while earnings per share (EPS) went up to 63 cents from 60 cents a year ago, the Atlanta-based company said in its financial report.

Excluding some special items, the EPS stood at 74 cents, beating the average market estimate of 70 cents. Total revenue advanced to 18.1 billion dollars, a 4.6-percent increase compared with the same period of fiscal 2011.

Supported by constant recovery in the housing sector, Home Depot's same-store sales rose 4.2 percent, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the company raised its estimate of sales gain this year to 5.2 percent from a previous projection of 4.6 percent. The EPS would also climb to 3.03 dollars from a previous forecast of 2. 95 dollars, topping the average estimate of 2.98 dollars, it added.

By the end of the third quarter, the company ran 2,250 retail stores across the world, employing 300,000 workers. Endi

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