http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/10/29/1029officedepot.html OFFICE DEPOT Q3 LOSES OF $ 413M
,SALES DOWN 17% BOCA RATON — Office
supplies retailer Office Depot Inc. said today that its third-quarter
loss widened, thanks in part to a sales decline of 17 percent.The Boca
Raton-based company, which reported its third-quarter earnings results
before the market opened, said that it lost $413 million, or $1.51 per
share, in the quarter ended Sept. 26. That’s compared with a loss of $7
million, or 2 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.Total sales
fell to $3.03 billion from $3.66 billion a year ago.
Analysts on
average had expected a loss of 10 cents per share on revenue of $3.08
billion for the quarter.Like many other companies, Office Depot has
struggled to restructure in light of the economic times.The company said
sales declines could be attributed partly to the fact that it has 117
fewer North American stores and 26 fewer Japanese stores than a year
ago.In addition, Office Depot closed one North American store in the
third quarter, opened one and relocated three stores, bringing the total
store count for North America to 115, according to the company.
Inventory
for those remaining North American stores was down about 14 percent
from the prior year, because of better inventory management and “reduced
exposure” to big-ticket items, the company said.”We are pleased with
both our operating results and cash flow performance in the third
quarter,” Mike Newman, Office Depot’s chief financial officer, said in a
statement. “We exceeded our expectations in the quarter as a result of
strong execution across the entire enterprise.”The company will hold a
conference call this morning to discuss its third-quarter earnings.