The Virginian-Pilot
                             THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Wednesday, February 22, 1995           TAG: 9502220414
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: (Staff)
                                             LENGTH: Short :   21 lines

LOWES ANNOUNCES JUMP IN EARNINGS FOR FISCAL '94

Lowes Co., the North Carolina home-improvement chain, has announced a 70 percent earnings increase for fiscal 1994. Profits for the year ended Jan. 31 were $233.6 million, compared with $131.8 million in fiscal 1993. Sales jumped 35 percent, to $6.1 billion in 1994 from $4.5 billion in the previous year. Comparable store sales rose 15 percent. For the fourth quarter, profits increased 80 percent, to $46.3 million from $25.7 million in the same period a year earlier. Sales climbed to $1.5 billion in the three-month period, up from $1.2 billion in the year-earlier period. by CNB