Office Depot Posts In-Line Q1 Earnings, But Revenue Misses Views

reported in-line earnings for the first quarter, but the company's sales missed analysts' estimates. The Boca Raton, Florida-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $45 million, or $0.08 per share, versus a year-ago loss of $109 million, or $0.21 per share. Excluding non-recurring items, the company's adjusted earnings came in at $0.13 per share. Its sales declined 11 percent to $3.88 billion from $4.35 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0.13 per share on revenue of $4.11 billion. North American Retail Division sales fell 9 percent to $1.7 billion in the first quarter, while International Division slipped 20 percent to $0.8 billion. North American Business Solutions Division sales declined 4 percent to $1.5 billion in the first quarter. Adjusted operating income for the first quarter climbed to $135 million from $68 million. "We were pleased to have doubled adjusted operating income in the first quarter versus last year, primarily due to continued excellent execution on our merger integration, synergies and efficiencies," said Roland Smith, chairman and chief executive officer for Office Depot, Inc. "As expected, we experienced sales declines compared to prior year, driven primarily by planned store closures and foreign currency translation. We continue to focus on executing on our Critical Priorities and remain on track with the Office Depot/OfficeMax merger integration and our European restructuring." Office Depot still projects 2015 sales below 2014 levels. Office Depot shares gained 0.64 percent to close at $9.38 yesterday.