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Office Depot goes from red to black
By Palm Beach Business.com
BOCA RATON — Sales fell but profit was up during the first quarter at Office Depot, the office supply retailer said Tuesday.
For the quarter, profit totaled $41.3 million, or 14 cents a share, on sales of $2.87 billion, compared with a loss of $14.4 million, or 5 cents a share, on sales of $2.972 million for the same period a year ago.
Excluding a variety of one-time charges and gains, including a $68 million credit from a pension settlement in Europe, 2012 profit would have totaled $14 million.
“Our first quarter 2012 results showed continued year-over-year earnings improvement despite lower sales,” CEO Neil Austrian said. “The North American Business Solutions Division delivered a strong performance again this quarter.”
The North American Retail Division reported first quarter 2012 sales of $1.2 billion, a decrease of 8 percent compared to 2011. Sales at stores opened more than a year declined 6 percent, largely because of a decline in the sales of computers and related products.
Overall, the division turned an operating profit of about $44 million, compared to about $58 million for the first quarter of 2011.
By contrast, the he North American Business Solutions Division reported an operating profit of $43 million, compared with $16 million during the same period a year ago. Sales totaled $828 million, a 3 percent increase over the year-ago period.
The economic crisis in Europe took a toll on Office Depot’s International Division, which saw operating profit dip to $15 million from $27 million a year ago. Sales totaled $825 million, down 2 percent from 2011. The 2012 profit includes $18 million in one-time charges.
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