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Staples Q2 profit more than halves as store traffic continues slide

Last updated: 01:47 20 Aug 2015 AEST, First published: 23:47 19 Aug 2015 AEST

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Staples says it secured more than $50mln of annualized cost savings and closed 15 stores in North America during the quarter.

Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS), the world's largest office-supply chain, reported profit more than halved in its fiscal second quarter as sales dropped and store traffic continued to dwindle.

Net income fell to $36mln, or $0.06 per share, in the three months ended August 1, from  $82mln, or $0.13 per share, a year earlier, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Adjusted earnings were $0.12 per share, in line with the average estimate of 14 analysts polled by Capital IQ.

Second-quarter sales fell 5.4% to $4.9bn year-over-year, missing the Wall Street consensus of $4.96bn.

“Our second quarter results were in-line with our expectations and reflect steady progress on our strategic reinvention,” chief executive officer Ron Sargent said in the statement. “We continued to drive growth in our delivery businesses and in categories beyond office supplies, and we grew operating income during the second quarter."

Staples said it secured more than $50mln of annualized cost savings and closed 15 stores in North America during the quarter.

The company has closed 212 stores in North America since the beginning of 2014, as part of a previously announced plan to close at least 225 stores in 2014 and 2015 combined.

Staples has been hit by shifts in office needs where basics like paper folders and printer toner are no longer in high demand and where discounters and Web retailers have invaded their turf. Earlier this year, Staples reached a deal to buy its rival Office Depot for $6.3bn.

For the fiscal third quarter, the company expects sales to decrease versus the year-earlier period. The company anticipates non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.33 to $0.36. Analysts expect the company to report earnings per share of $0.36.

Shares were up 0.4% at $14.21 at 9:42 a.m. in New York. The stock has lost 22% this year.

 

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