20 October 2004 – Delray Beach (FL): Office Depot has announced an increase in sales of three per cent after a challenging Q3.
Total sales for the company were up three per cent to $3.3 billion, compared to a growth of 11 per cent in the first nine months of the year. Worldwide comp sales in stores that have been open for more than a year remained flat.
Net income for Q3 was $89.9 million, or EPS of $0.28, down from $91.6 million, or EPS of $0.29, in the same period in 2003.
Neil Austrian, Office Depot’s chairman and CEO said: "Our third quarter was challenging on many fronts. Softening in our European business, disruptions associated with several hurricanes in the US and lower than expected back-to-school dates combined to negatively impact our financial performance.
"Despite these challenges, we improved the profitability of our North American Retail and Business Services Group segments through several on-going merchandising initiatives and a broad-based focus on expense management."
