Office Depot posts 4Q profit, helped by cost cuts

[Anonymous]

Office Depot posts 4Q profit, helped by cost cuts

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Office supplier Office Depot Inc. on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter profit, reversing a year-ago loss, as the company cut costs and sold more items at full price.

The results send shares up 39 cents, or 12.9 percent, to $3.41 in morning trading.Office supply retailers are facing cautious spending from consumers and small businesses alike. But results show Office Depot is making inroads in improving its business.

Net income available to common shareholders, for the three months ended Dec. 31 totaled $12.3 million, or 4 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $108.6 million, or 39 cents per share, in the 2010 fourth quarter.Excluding restructuring charges and tax benefits, net income totaled 3 cents per share.That was ahead of the break-even per share analysts were expecting, according to FactSet.Revenue edged up less than 1 percent to $2.97 billion from $2.96 billion last year. Analysts expected revenue of $3 billion.

Revenue in its North American retail division was flat at $1.2 billion, while revenue from stores open at least one year, a key measure of a retailer’s health, fell 5 percent. But Office Depot said the decline was planned as the company offered less specials and sold more items at full price to improve profitability.

Revenue from sales to small business rose 4 percent to $832 million. International sales fell 3 percent to $901 million.

For the full year 2011, net income totaled $60 million, or 22 cents per share, compared with a 2010 loss of $81.7 million, or 30 cents per share.

Revenue for the year fell 1 percent to $11.49 billion from $11.63 billion a year ago.Office Depot stock has traded between $1.75 and $5.54 in the past 52 weeks, and started the session up 59 percent since the start of the year.

[Author]

February 28, 2012 at 8:38 AM