Office Depot’s third quarter sales rose 13% from $2.87 billion in 2002 to $3.24 billion. Its net earnings increased from $88.2 million to $91.7 million. The quarter ended Sept. 27.
During the third quarter, e-commerce sales rose 24%, to $672.1 million. Most of the growth came from sales overseas: Domestic e-commerce revenue grew 11% during the quarter.
Sales within the Business Services Group, which includes auto-replenish contracts, were flat during the quarter. The company’s North American catalog sales declined, although the company did not state by how much, saying only that the average transaction size was down 5%.
Both e-commerce and retail sales in the third quarter of 2003 reflect Office Depot’s acquisition of Guilbert, a UK-based office supply firm.
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