Office Depot posts annual results, announces consolidation of catalog ops
Delray Beach, FL-based Office Depot (NYSE: ODP), which includes cataloger Viking Office Products, posted a 56% rise in fourth-quarter income and a 55% jump in full-year earnings.
For the quarter ended Dec. 28, the cataloger/retailer netted $62.9 million on $2.84 billion in sales. For the fourth quarter of 2001, earnings totaled $40.3 million on $2.78 billion in sales.
For the full year, sales rose 3%. The cataloger/retailer earned $310.7 million on revenue of $11.36 billion.
Fourth-quarter sales in its Business Services Group, which includes Viking Office Products, grew 5% to $963.6 million from $921.1 million the previous year. For the year, sales grew 4%, to $3.9 billion from $3.8 billion. The company said that catalog sales had declined but that domestic Web sales had increased 26% during the fourth quarter.
Annual sales at North American stores sales fell 1%, to $5.80 billion from $5.84 billion in 2001. Looking ahead, Office Depot expects earnings per share to increase of 5%-10% this year. Analysts had expected an earnigns increase of 14%.
The company also said it would combine the catalog operations of Torrance, CA-based Viking with those of Office Depot’s headquarters in Delray Beach. According to spokesperson Eileen Dunn, the details of the move—on which the company will spend $10 million-$20 million in systems integration costs—have yet to be determined. It has not yet been decided when or how many Torrance employees would be relocated.
Dell’s fourth quarter, annual numbers rise Dude, Dell Computer Corp. (NasdaqNM: Dell) is posting some serious numbers. The computer marketer enjoyed a 32% jump in fourth-quarter income and a 21% increase in fourth-quarter sales. For the three months ended Jan. 31, Dell netted $603 million on record sales of $9.74 billion.
For the year ended Jan. 31, the Round Rock, TX-based computer marketer had sales of $35.4 billion, up 14% from $31.2 billion for fiscal 2001. Net income increased 19%, to $2.1 billion from $1.8 billion.