Top office products retailer Staples Inc reported a 38 percent drop in quarterly profit as costs increased.

Net earnings fell to $92.4 million, or 13 cents a share, in the second quarter ended on August 1 from $150.2 million, or 21 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding a pretax integration and restructuring charge of $30 million, Staples earned 16 cents a share, in line with the average Wall Street forecast, according to Reuters Estimates.

The company, which is poised to gain from any recovery in corporate spending with its acquisition of Dutch rival Corporate Express, said in July that it was seeing a rebound at its North American delivery unit that serves small businesses.

While sales rose 9 percent to $5.5 billion, both operating expenses and costs of goods sold increased in the quarter.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)