Office Depot Q3 Profit Meets Views

reported in-line earnings for the third quarter on Tuesday. The Boca Raton, Florida-based company reported quarterly net income of $6 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to $29 million, or $0.05 per share, in the year-earlier quarter. Its sales dropped 9 percent year-over-year to $3.7 billion from $4.1 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.16 per share on revenue of $3.74 billion. North American Retail division same-store sales increased 3 percent in the latest quarter. North American Retail division sales slipped 7 percent year-over-year to $1.6 billion in the third quarter, while North American Business Solutions division sales dropped 6 percent to $1.4 billion in the third quarter. International division sales dipped 19 percent to $0.6 billion in the third quarter. Its operating income climbed to $51 million from $49 million. "We delivered strong operating results in the third quarter, despite the continued disruption related to the pending acquisition by Staples," said Roland Smith, chairman and chief executive officer of Office Depot. Smith added, "We are working with the regulatory agencies to clear the pending acquisition by Staples, and expect to close the transaction in late 2015 or early 2016." For 2015, the company continues to project total sales to be lower than 2014. Office Depot shares slipped 1.84 percent to close at $7.48 yesterday.