But B2B sales produced $138 million in net income and fared better than retail sales, which declined 6% and posted a net loss of $4 million.

Sales to business customers accounted for nearly all of the second-quarter net income at Staples Inc., the office products company reported today.

Staples’ North American Delivery unit, which includes sales to businesses through StaplesAdvantage.com, Quill.com and Staples.com, dipped 1.6% year over year to $2.547 billion, as net income attributed to the unit decreased 15.8% to $138 million from $164 million.

In comparison, second quarter retail store sales fell 6.0% to $1.358 billion, with a unit net loss of $4 million.

Earlier this month, Staples said a plan related to its pending acquisition by investment firm Sycamore Partners would break out the company’s U.S. and Canadian retail operations into separate “independently managed and capitalized” Sycamore-affiliated entities. The move will leave North American Delivery as the sole business within Staples, Staples said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

For the second quarter ended June 30, 2017, Staples reported:

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  • North American Delivery sales of $2.547 billion, down 1.6% from $2.588 billion a year earlier, as income for the unit decreased 15.8% to $138 million from $164 million;
  • North American Retail sales, including retail stores in the U.S. and Canada, fell 6 .0% to $1.358 billion from $1.444 billion, as net income for the unit narrowed to $4 million from $8 million;
  • Total sales declined 3.1% to $3.905 billion from $4.032 billion;
  • Net income of $102 million compared with a year-earlier net loss of $205 million. The net loss of a year ago coincided with $250 million in costs related to the aborted merger with Office Depot Inc.

For the six months ended June 30, 2017, Staples reported:

  • North American Delivery sales of $5.18 billion, down 2.3% from $5.30 billion a year earlier, as unit income fell 11.0% to $324 million from $364 million;
  • North American Retail sales of $2.873 billion, down 7.1 % from $3.094 billion;
  • Total sales of $8.055 billion, down 4.0% from $8.394 billion;
  • Net income of $260 million, compared to a year-earlier net loss of $120 million.

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