(Reuters) - Office supply retailer Staples Inc reported a 44 percent fall in quarterly profit, hurt by a stronger U.S. dollar and store closures.
The company's net income fell to $96 million, or 15 cents per share, in the first quarter ended May 3 from $170 million, or 26 cents per share, a year earlier.
Staples took a $46 million pre-tax charge related to closing 16 stores in the quarter and its plan to close about 80 stores in the current quarter.
Sales fell nearly 3 percent to $5.65 billion in the latest quarter.
(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bangalore; Editing by Savio D'Souza)