Office Depot: Fourth quarter loss totals $1.5 billion

By Palm Beach Business.com

DELRAY BEACH — The economy pulled the rug, the floor and the basement out from underneath Office Depot in the fourth quarter.

The office supply giant Tuesday reported a fourth quarter loss of $1.5 billion, or $5.64 a share, on revenue of $3.3 billion. The same quarter a year ago saw Office depot reporting a profit of $19 million, or 7 cents a share, on sales of $3.9 billion.

For the year, Office Depot lost $1.5 billion, or $5.42 a share, on revenue of $14.5 billion.  By comparison, Office Depot earned $395 million, or $1.45, a share, on sales of $15.5 billion.

One piece of good news: the company maintained a positive cash flow during the quarter.

Shares of Office Depot fell 19 cents to $1.26. A year ago, the stock was trading at more than $14 and two years ago, it was more than $36.

The 2008 numbers included non-cash charges totaling $1.27 billion, or $4.54 a share recorded for goodwill and trade name impairments, and pre-tax charges totaling $167 million, or 37 cents a share for actions taken as a result of a business review announced in December and a plan announced in 2005.

Fourth quarter 2008 sales for the company’s North American stores totaled $1.4 billion, down 17 percent compared to the same period last year. Comparable store sales in the 1,207 stores in the U.S. and Canada that have been open for more than one year decreased 18 percent during the last three months of 2008.

Fourth quarter 2008 sales in the North American business solutions division were $920 million, down 14 percent compared to the same period last year, driven by severe spending cuts by the division’s customers.

The international division reported fourth quarter sales down 15 percent to $963 million.

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