UPDATE: Office Depot Q1 Profit Beats Estimates

reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter. The Boca Raton, Florida-based company posted a quarterly loss of $84 million, or $0.15 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $144 million, or $0.34 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company earned $0.07 per share, beating analysts' expectations of $0.04 per share. Its revenue climbed 9.9% to $3.83 billion from $3.49 billion, versus analysts' estimates of $2.9 billion. North American sales jumped to $1.54 billion from $1.4 billion, while domestic same-store sales dropped 2%. Sales for North American Business Solutions division rose to $1.5 billion from $1.2 billion, while International division sales fell to $0.8 billion from $0.9 billion. Office Depot posted an operating loss of $61 million, versus an operating loss of $118 million. Roland Smith, chairman and chief executive officer for Office Depot Inc said, "We were pleased to deliver strong fourth quarter results, and full year 2014 adjusted operating income that was almost three-fold higher than the prior year pro forma…Our operating priorities for 2015 primarily focus on driving continued synergies and efficiencies and improving the customer experience." For 2015, Office Depot projects total sales to be lower than 2014. Office Depot shares gained 1.80% to $9.61 in pre-market trading.