Staples reports 4th-quarter loss of $260.4 million

Staples Inc. (SPLS) on Friday reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $260.4 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.

On a per-share basis, the Framingham, Massachusetts-based company said it had a loss of 41 cents. Earnings, adjusted for one-time gains and costs, came to 31 cents per share.

The results exceeded Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 12 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 30 cents per share.

The office supply chain posted revenue of $5.66 billion in the period, which fell short of Street forecasts. Eight analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $5.75 billion.

For the year, the company reported profit of $134.5 million, or 21 cents per share. Revenue was reported as $22.49 billion.

For the current quarter ending in April, Staples expects its per-share earnings to range from 16 cents to 18 cents.

Staples shares have dropped roughly 9 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has climbed 2 percent. The stock has increased 22 percent in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on SPLS at http://www.zacks.com/ap/SPLS

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Keywords: Staples, Earnings Report