Office Depot 2Q same-store sales drop 10 percent

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) _ Office supplies retailer Office Depot Inc. said Tuesday the slowing economy has hurt second-quarter sales, and forecast a nearly 10 percent drop in quarterly sales at North American stores open at least a year.

Office Depot said weakening business conditions have pushed total company sales down slightly in the second quarter. Its margin for earnings before interest and taxes also has declined by 200 basis points more than the 200 to 250 basis point year-over-year decline the company previously expected.

Office Depot said it expects the economic environment to be "difficult" for the rest of the year, but predicts profit margins will improve sequentially in the third and fourth quarters.

The company is scheduled to release earnings for the quarter ended June 28 on July 30. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect profit of 21 cents per share on revenue of $3.64 billion.