Direct Sales Fuel Staples’ 2Q

Total sales at Staples (Nasdaq: SPLS) increased 11% to $4.3 billion compared to the second quarter of 2006, the company announced Aug. 21. Net income for the Framingham, MA-based merchant rose 11% year over year to $179 million, and earnings per share, on a diluted basis, increased 14% to 25 cents, from the 22 cents achieved in the second quarter of last year.

Sales for its North American Delivery Business, which includes the Staples and Quill catalog and online businesses as well as the Staples contract delivery business, rose 16% vs. the second quarter last year.