OfficeMax profit climbs 9 percent

NAPERVILLE -- OfficeMax Inc. announced its first-quarter profit climbed 9 percent, helped by a gain from its investment in Boise Cascade. The Naperville-based office supply retailer reports net income after preferred dividends rose to $62.4 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with $57.5 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, earnings per share were 68 cents, the company said. OfficeMax said revenue dipped 6 percent to $2.3 billion from $2.44 billion.