May 21 Reuters Lowe39;s Cos reported a lowerthanexpected drop in quarterly sales on Tuesday, helped by more smallscale repairs undertaken by inflationhit Americans, who have otherwise cut back on bigticket discretionary home improvement projects.

The North Carolinabased company39;s shares rose about 2.5 before the bell after Lowe39;s also reaffirmed its annual sales and profit target.

Rival Home Depot last week reiterated its annual targets hoping that demand would recover in the second half.

Expectations for Lowe39;s were a little bit lower after Home Depot39;s results and people thought it may have a chance to miss earnings but instead they were actually able to beat, said Telsey Advisory Group39;s Joe Feldman.

While higher prices of essentials has made customers wary about undertaking expensive repairs, they have been willing to shell out on smaller repair works, helping prop up sales at homeimprovement retailers.

Lowe39;s has also been able to sustain demand from its procustomers, which include professional builders, contractors and handymen, helping it counter the weakness from its doityourself customers, who have cut back spending on home decor categories.

Visits to Lowe39;s were also up by 0.2 on a yearoveryear basis in April, having dropped 1.1 in March and 2.8 in February, according to data analytics firm Placer.ai.

It said the launch of its DIY loyalty program nationally during the quarter to attract more customers as well as expansion of its sameday…