The ODP Corp. ODP, -3.13% said Wednesday it had net income of $32 million, or 61 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up from $31 million, or 57 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 71 cents, well ahead of the 49 cent FactSet consensus. Sales edged down to $2.042 billion from $2.085 billion, also ahead of the $1.983 billion FactSet consensus. The parent of Office Depot and OfficeMax business staples stores said the beat came against a macroeconomic backdrop challenged by supply chain constraints, inflation, and a slower pace of back-to-office trends, and it was able to raise prices to offset some of those. “Additionally, we advanced our new digital platform business, Varis, and remain very encouraged about our early progress,” CEO Gerry Smith said in a statement. ODP has decided to delay the separation of its consumer business in the first half as it continues to evaluate an offer from Sycamore Partners and a third party, to avoid incurring separation costs.
