Office products retailer OfficeMax Inc. announced that it posted a loss of $13.2 million, or 12 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, excluding an unusual charge of $66.8 million related to store closures.
In the year-earlier quarter, OfficeMax posted a profit of $19.3 million, or 17 cents per share, excluding a $3.8 million after-tax benefit.
Including the charge, the Cleveland-based company’s fourth-quarter operating loss was $85 million, or 76 cents per share, compared with a profit of $23 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts had lowered their earnings expectations, before unusual items, to a loss of 13 cents per share, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.
Sales for the quarter rose 9 percent, to $1.42 billion from $1.31 billion a year earlier, while sales at stores open at least one year fell 6 percent.
OfficeMax shares closed up 21 cents, to $3.21, on the New York Stock Exchange.
