As Staples reels in the wake of a failed merger with Office Depot, the Framingham company announced a decline in sales and an over 30 percent drop in income in its first quarter.
Staples reported a decline of three percent in first quarter sales that totaled $5.1 billion, the company announced Wednesday. First quarter income was down by 30.5 percent year-over-year to $41 million. Sales declines in business machines, technology accessories, computers and mobility, and ink and toner were partially offset by growth in furniture, office supplies, facilities supplies, and copy and print, according to Staples. During this time Staples completed 14 of 50 planned store closings.
However, the drop was even steeper for North American stores and online sales where there was a 5.2 percent drop. Store closures were estimated by Staples to account for 2 percent of this decline in sales. Income for North America was down over 17 percent to $62 million.
The company ended the quarter with $2.0 billion in liquidity, including $946 million in cash and cash equivalents.
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