Staples Posts Higher Profit on Cost Cutting

Top U.S. office supplies retailer Staples reported a higher quarterly profit, boosted by tight cost controls and market share gains. The company, which reported preliminary quarterly results late last month, said earnings rose to $288.7 million, or 40 cents a share, in the third quarter ended on Oct. 30 from $269.4 million, or 37 cents a share, a year earlier. Sales at Staples rose 0.3 percent to about $6.54 billion. Smaller rivals Office Depot and OfficeMax , which reported their quarterly results last month, also relied on cost cuts to offset tepid sales.