United Stationers (NASDAQ: USTR), Deerfield, IL, reported sales for the first quarter of $1.3 billion, up 6.2 percent from the prior-year quarter. The company reported a net loss of $4 million, down from a profit of $21.9 million a year ago.

First-quarter sales in janitorial and breakroom supplies rose 8.3 percent to $357.7 million. Industrial supply sales increased 57.2 percent to $210.3 million , including $90.2 million from the CPO and MEDCO acquisitions made in 2014. Total office products sales declined 3.5 percent to $727.3 million.

United Stationers in February announced it plans to reposition under the brand Essendant this year. In the first-quarter report, the company said it would invest an incremental $15 million to move to a common operating/information technology platform that will "simplify the customer experience and deliver operating cost savings." In the first quarter, United Stationers invested $1 million in this process.