Operating expenses decreased by eight percent, or $72 million, compared to the same period in 2009.
Gross profit stood at $829 million, down from last year’s £860 million.
The retailer’s North American division saw sales of $1.3 billion, a one percent drop compared to 2009.
Office Depot said that customer transaction counts increased, while the average order decreased. The firm explained that this reflected “increasing competitive pressure during the Back-to-School season”.
Operating profit for this segment fell by $5 million to £30 million. Office Depot said: “The operating profit decline was driven primarily by increased advertising expense in the quarter to drive improved brand awareness and the impact on product margins from the promotional and competitive Back-to-School season.
“These factors were partially offset by lower occupancy costs and reduced product clearance activities, as well as benefits from increased direct import product penetration.”
During the third quarter of 2010, Office Depot closed five stores and opened three new stores, bringing the total store count in North America to 1,150 as of 25 September.
Third quarter sales in the North American Business Solutions Division were reported to be $842 million, a decrease of four percent.
The office equipment supplier said that the average order value for the quarter was “slightly higher compared to the third quarter of 2009 and customer transaction counts continued to be lower than the prior year period”.
It added: “However, the rate of transaction decline has now improved sequentially over the past six quarters. Sales in the direct channel were relatively flat compared to the same period in 2009. The contract channel sales declined in the quarter compared to one year ago but the rate of that decline improved from prior quarters.”
The division saw operating profit of $25 million, a $4 million rise. Office Depot put this down to “a relatively higher sales mix from our direct channel and improved productivity in selling expenses”.
Sales for the International Division were $778 million, a decrease of 10 percent in US dollars and a decrease of three percent in local currency. One percent of this was due to store closures in Japan, according to Office Depot.
This segment reported operating profit of $30 million, compared to $34 million in the same period last year.
Office Depot said: “The operating profit decline in the quarter resulted from the flow through effect from lower sales volume, partially offset by improved product pricing, lower occupancy costs and benefits derived from reduced distribution and general and administration costs compared to the same period last year.
“The change in exchange rates negatively impacted operating profit by approximately $3 million for the third quarter of 2010.”
Mike Newman, CFO at Office Depot, said: “We are pleased with our strong cash flow performance in the third quarter which was driven by both earnings and good working capital management.
“We have been executing very well across the entire enterprise as we focus on returning to sales growth and delivering improved profit as we go forward.”
Click here for the full results.