NEW YORK (Reuters) - Staples , the world's largest office products retailer, posted a higher-than-expected third-quarter profit, helped by higher sales from the acquisition of Dutch peer, Corporate Express.
STAPLES (SPLS.NQ)said net earnings fell to $156.7 million, or 22 cents a share, in the fiscal third quarter that ended November 1, from $274.5 million, or 38 cents a share a year earlier.
Excluding charges tied to litigation and the purchase of Corporate Express, Staples earned 42 cents a share, compared with analysts' average expectation for 41 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Total quarterly sales rose 34 percent to $6.95 billion.
Excluding the impact of Corporate Express, sales fell 3 percent to $5 billion, Staples said.
Sales at North American retail stores fell 6 percent, while sales at stores open at least a year were down 8 percent, due to a decline in order size and customer traffic.
Sales of office supplies have suffered as small-business customers contend with higher commodity costs, a drop in housing values and difficulty securing credit.
Rivals OfficeMax
Staples said it expects annual synergies from the Corporate Express acquisition to build over three years to $300 million.
(Reporting by Aarthi Sivaraman and Sarah Coffey, Editing by Maureen Bavdek)