Office Depot to restate earnings

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. -- Office Depot Inc. says it will revise some past financial statements after it completed an independent review of vendor-program accounting.

The review revealed that during the period beginning in the third quarter of 2006 through the second quarter of 2007, funds due or received from vendors were recognized in the current quarter but should have been deferred into later periods.

Delray Beach-based Office Depot said late Thursday it plans to reduce fiscal 2006 third-quarter earnings by 2 cents a share and fiscal 2006 fourth-quarter earnings by 3 cents. For its 2007 fiscal year, the company will reduce first-quarter earnings by a penny and second-quarter earnings by 2 cents.

As a result, related amounts of about 7 cents a share will be recognized in future periods, beginning in the second half of 2007 and in decreasing amounts in years from 2008 through 2010.

Office Depot said it anticipates making all necessary regulatory filings and releasing its third-quarter results by the end of November.

Office Depot said Oct. 29 that it was delaying its third-quarter report due to the review of the vendor program funds. The news sent the company's shares down more than 14 percent to $17.43 that day.

The stock fell 18 cents to $17.34 Thursday.

Office Depot has annual sales of more than $15 billion and sells to customers in 42 countries. It is the nation's second-largest office supplies retailer after Framingham, Mass.-based Staples Inc.