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OfficeMax loss beats target
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May 15, 2001: 9:06 a.m. ET
Retailer's 1Q results hit by slowdown in consumer, small business spending
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Office supply retailer OfficeMax Inc. reported a fiscal first-quarter loss that was slightly narrower than Wall Street expectations, as the chain said it was hit by the impact of store closings and a slowdown in consumer and small business spending.
The company, which closed 46 stores on the first day of the quarter in an effort to cut costs and losses, reported it lost $16.6 million, or 15 cents a share, in the quarter ended April 28. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call were looking for a 16 cent a share loss in the period. The company lost $2.1 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.
The store closings and discontinuance of its computer segment led sales to fall nearly 11 percent to $1.19 billion from $1.34 billion a year earlier. Excluding the impact of store closings and the computer segment, sales declined 4 percent on a year-to-year basis.
The quarter marked the fifth straight money-losing period for the company, and First Call forecasts it will lose 19 cents a share in the current quarter, an improvement from the 22 cent a share loss in the second quarter of last year. Analysts are looking for a return to profitability in the third quarter. The company gave no new financial guidance in the quarterly report Tuesday.
Shares of OfficeMax (OMX: Research, Estimates) edged up 3 cents to $3.88 Monday ahead of Tuesday morning's report. 
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