No. 2 U.S. home improvement chain Lowe's Cos Inc reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Monday, boosted by strong demand for energy-efficient appliances and gardening products.

Net income rose to $489 million, or 34 cents a share, in the first quarter ended April 30 from $476 million, or 32 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts on average were expecting a profit of 31 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Sales rose 4.7 percent to $12.39 billion, beating the average estimate of about $12.25 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.4 percent.

Lowe's shares were down 2 percent at $25.55 in trading before the market opened.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn )