Staples meets Street with Q2 profit decline

Framingham, Mass. – Staples Inc. met Wall Street expectations with declining profit in the second quarter of fiscal 2015. Costs related to restructuring and the pending acquisition of Office Depot drove net income down 56% to $36 million, from $82 million in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.



Net sales fell 5% to $4.94 billion, from $5.22 billion. North American store closures and unfavorable foreign exchange rates pushed sales totals downward. Same-store sales in North America (including online) fell 3%.



“Our second quarter results were in-line with our expectations and reflect steady progress on our strategic reinvention,” said Ron Sargent, Staples’ chairman and CEO. “We continued to drive growth in our delivery businesses and in categories beyond office supplies, and we grew operating income during the second quarter. We remain on track with the acquisition of Office Depot, which we expect to close by the end of 2015.”



Staples expects net sales to decrease in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, compared to the same quarter of fiscal 2014.