Staples Issues Q2 Guidance; To Close At Least 50 Stores In 2016

(RTTNews) - Staples, Inc. (SPLS) announced, for the second quarter of 2016, the company expects sales to decrease from the second quarter of 2015. The company expects non-GAAP earnings per share in the range of $0.11 to $0.13. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report profit per share of $0.12. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

For full year 2016, the company expects to generate approximately $600 million of free cash flow excluding the impact of payments associated with financing for the proposed acquisition of Office Depot and costs associated with the termination of the Office Depot merger agreement. The company plans to close at least 50 stores in North America in 2016.

Total company sales for the first quarter of 2016 were $5.1 billion, a decrease of three percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. Total company sales for the first quarter of 2016 decreased one percent compared to the first quarter of 2015 after excluding the impact of changes in foreign exchange rates and store closures during the past year.

Excluding the impact of charges taken during the first quarter of 2016, the company reported non-GAAP net income of $109 million, or $0.17 per share, versus first quarter 2015 non-GAAP net income of $109 million, or $0.17 per share. On a GAAP basis, the company reported net income of $41 million, or $0.06 per share.