The retailer cited lower costs and increased revenue for the leap and announced it would take a stake in South Korea's Best Office as part of a strategy to reverse falling international sales.
The company reported net income of US$106.3 million (£61.1 million), up from US$52.1 million (£29.9 million). Sales grew 7 per cent to US$3.72 billion (£2.14 billion) from US$3.47 billion (£1.99 billion). For the year, Office Depot made a profit of US$273.8 million (£157.3 million) on sales of US$14.28 billion (£8.2 billion), compared with US$335 million (£192.4 million) on sales of US$13.56 billion (£7.8 billion) in 2004.
Office Depot chairman and CEO Steve Odland said the company was trying to boost its international presence in the face of growing global competition and two consecutive sales falls in its international operations, which includes UK subsidiary Viking Direct.
'It may take us some time to stabilise this situation,' he said. 'We need to reignite profitable growth in Europe and, over time, increase our geographical reach.'
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