Staples Barely Beats Consensus In Q1
By Zacks Investment Research on May 27, 2009 | More Posts By Zacks Investment Research | Author's Website
Staples Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS) announced fiscal first-quarter adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share this morning, narrowly beating the consensus estimate by a penny.
The world’s largest office products company posted sales growth of 19% to $5.8 billion, primarily driven by the acquisition of Corporate Express last July.
Same-store sales fell 8% in its North American division on lower average order size, coupled with weakness in big-ticket items such as business machines and furniture.
Same-store revenue in Europe was down 14%, compared last year.
Meanwhile, the company continues to expect cost savings of up to $300 million accruing from the acquisition of Corporate Express.
The full-year consensus estimate has remained stagnant at $1.11 over the past 2 months.
SPLS, a Zacks #3 Rank (”Hold”) stock, is down about 1% today on volume of approximately 3.3 million, compared to average daily volume of about 7.5 million.

