Office Depot Q3 tops estimates; completes key acquisition

11/9/2017
Office Depot on Thursday posted profit and revenue ahead of estimates and announced a "milestone" in its transformation to a business-services driven operation.

The company said it has completed its acquisition of CompuCom Systems, a provider of technology services, products and solutions.

"Together, this combination will create a unique nationwide omnichannel offering in office supplies and end-to-end technology solutions focused on business customers," Office Depot stated. "The combined company expects to be well positioned to capture market share in the $25 billion, highly fragmented North American managed workplace service market by providing a comprehensive network of enterprise-level tech services and products to new and existing customers of all size."

Office Depot's net income totaled $92 million, or 17 cents a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30, down from $193 million, or 35 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted per-share earnings were 19 cents, ahead of the 13 cents FactSet consensus.

Sales fell to $2.62 billion, down from $2.83 billion. Sales in the retail division totaled $1.3 billion, compared to $1.5 billion in the prior year period. The company attributed the decline to the impact of planned store closures over the past twelve months, hurricane impacts and a 5% decline in comparable store sales in the quarter versus the prior year.

Earlier this week, Office Depot announced the launch of BizBox, a business services platform designed to start-ups and small business leaders access to the core services needed to start and grow their businesses through a convenient, monthly subscription.

"Our new strategy is focused on building diverse and stable recurring service offerings that leverage our omnichannel platform, but most importantly it was created by listening to our customers and the solutions they need in order to run their businesses,” commented CEO Gerry Smith. “We are moving quickly to make the necessary investments to successfully deliver on the strategy and believe it can ultimately unlock significant value to our shareholders as we position Office Depot for the future.”
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