Investing.com - The largest U.S. office supplies chain Staples Inc (NASDAQ:SPLS) reported weaker than expected second quarter earnings as revenue figures came in below estimates, it announced early Wednesday.
Staples said earnings per share came in at $0.12 in the three months ended August 1, broadly in line with market expectations and down from $0.13 per share in the same period a year earlier.
On a GAAP basis, the company reported net income of $0.06 per diluted share. Second quarter 2015 results on a GAAP basis include pre-tax charges of $24 million related to restructuring and related activities, as well as $34 million related to the acquisition of Office Depot.
The company’s second quarter revenue totaled $4.94 billion, missing forecasts for revenue of $4.96 billion and compared to sales of $5.22 billion in the year-ago period.
Comparable sales, which combines comparable store sales and Staples.com sales growth excluding the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates, decreased 2% versus the prior year.
Sales growth was negatively impacted by approximately 4% due to store closures during the past year. Changes in foreign exchange rates also negatively impacted second quarter 2015 sales growth by approximately 3%.
"Our second quarter results were in-line with our expectations and reflect steady progress on our strategic reinvention," said Ron Sargent, Staples chairman and chief executive officer.
For the third quarter of 2015, the company expects sales to decrease versus the third quarter of 2014. The company expects to achieve fully diluted non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.33 to $0.36 for the third quarter, due to the unfavorable impact of the stronger U.S. dollar on sales and earnings.
Immediately following the release of the report, Staples shares lost 1.55% in pre-market trade to $13.93 from Tuesday's closing price of $14.15.
Meanwhile, the outlook for U.S. equity markets was mildly lower. The Dow futures pointed to a loss of 0.3% at the open, S&P 500 futures dipped 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a drop of 0.2% at the open.