Before Friday’s opening bell, office supply retailer Staples (SPLS ) slipped to a loss for the fourth quarter, but beat analysts’ EPS estimates on an adjusted basis.

SPLS’s Earnings in Brief

• Staples reported a quarterly net loss of $260.35 million, or 41 cents per share, compared to net income of $212.38 million, or 33 cents per share, last year.
• Excluding special items, EPS came in at 31 cents, above analysts’ view of 30 cents.
• Total sales dropped 3.7% to $5.66 billion from $5.87 billion last year. Analysts expected to see revenue of $5.76 billion.
• Looking ahead to the first quarter, the company expects to see EPS between 16 cents and 18 cents. Analysts are expecting EPS of 17 cents.

CEO Commentary

The company’s chairman and CEO Ron Sargent commented: “During the fourth quarter we achieved strong sales growth in our North American delivery businesses, further optimized our retail store network, and improved profitability in our International business.”

SPLS’s Dividend

Staples will pay its next 12 cent dividend on April 16. The stock is going ex-dividend on March 25.

Click here to see the complete history of SPLS dividends.

Stock Performance

Shares of SPLS were down 18 cents, or 1.09% during premarket trading Friday. The stock is down 8.94% YTD.

The Bottom Line

Staples (SPLS ) is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com DARS™ Rating of 2.9 out of 5 stars.

Be sure to visit our complete recommended list of the Best Dividend Stocks, as well as a detailed explanation of our ratings system here.