On the Call: Staples CEO Ron Sargent

Staples reported fourth-quarter that net income fell 72 percent on costs related to a turnaround plan, but adjusted results beat Wall Street expectations. The news comes after OfficeMax and Office Depot expressed their intent to combine to compete better in the office supply sector. Here Staple's CEO Ron Sargent discusses the move.

QUESTION: "Are you going to not comment on the potential benefits of a combination in the sector?"

RESPONSE: "I should start off by first of all saying congratulations to Neil (Austrian, Office Depot CEO) and to Ravi (Saligram, CEO of OfficeMax) and the Office Depot and OfficeMax teams. As I have said before, I believe the merger is going to be good for customers and I think it is going to be good for our industry. But at this point ... I think it's just way too premature to say much more given the Federal Trade Commission review and really, at this point, from my perspective, lacking any definitive details of the transaction."