OfficeMax Q1 profit drops 79%

Naperville, Ill. OfficeMax announced its first quarter 2009 results on Thursday, which included a steep profit decline of 79%, from $62.4 million in first quarter 2008 to $13.1 million in first quarter 2009.

Total sales decreased 17% in the first quarter to $1.9 billion, compared with first quarter 2008.

"Although our financial results declined in the first quarter vs. the prior-year period, we continued to make improvements to our business and to contain costs,” Sam Duncan, chairman and CEO of OfficeMax, said. “We improved retail segment operating expenses as a percentage of sales compared to the first quarter of 2008 as a result of reorganizing our management, more efficient execution, and tighter cost controls.”

OfficeMax’s same-store sales decreased 12.7%, and sales declined across all major product categories primarily due to weaker small-business and consumer spending.

OfficeMax ended first quarter 2009 with a total of 1,020 retail stores, consisting of 939 retail stores in the United States and 81 retail stores in Mexico. During first quarter 2009, OfficeMax opened six retail stores in the United States and closed two stores in Mexico and six in the United States.

For the full year 2009, OfficeMax said it expects to open as many as 12 retail stores, and shutter between 15 and 25 retail stores.