Staples Inc., the Framingham-based office supplies retailer, said cost cutting efforts brought its third quarter profit up 7 percent to $289 million.
Sales were essentially flat at $6.5 billion.
The company ended the quarter with $1.4 billion in cash and equivalents. It repurchased 8 million shares of common stock for $156 million during the period.
Operating income was $514 million compared to $466 million. Operating expenses were about $10 million less than they were a year ago.
