Home improvement store chain Lowe's Companies Inc. (NYSE: LOW) said on Monday that its first quarter profit dropped by 12 percent, slightly below expectations, due to a slowing U.S housing market.

Net income was $739 million, or 48 cents per share for the quarter ending May 4, down from the $841 million, or 53 cents per share it earned in the same period last year. Revenue rose 2 percent to $12.17 billion, however, up from the $11.92 billion seen in the same quarter last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 49 cents a share on revenue of $12.41 billion.

The company said a difficult housing market and significant plywood price deflation hindered its profit growth. Same store sales decline 6 percent.

Those anticipated factors were compounded by mixed weather during the quarter, said Rober Niblock, Lowe's chairman and CEO, in a statement. Mild temperatures and solid sales in March were more than offset by record cold and wet weather across much of the U.S. during the first two weeks of April.

Lowes lowered its full year profit forecast to a range of $1.99 to $2.08. In February, the firm had predicted a full year profit of $2.02 to $2.09 per share. Sales are now expected to rise about 7 percent, down from a 10 percent increase in the previous forecast.

Last week, the industry leader Home Depot Inc. posted a 30 percent decline in net profit.

Shares in Lowe's fell 42 cents, or 1.29 percent to $32.25 in pre-market trading on the New York Stock Exchange.