Last Wednesday, we saw the impact of the one-time charges announced by Office Depot (NYSE:ODP) back on Sept. 12, and it's not pretty. The office supply retailer posted a third-quarter loss of $48 million, or $0.15 per share, down from last year's profit of $89 million, or $0.28 per share. Minus the plethora of charges related to asset impairments, exit costs, and options expensing, the company earned $115 million, or $0.36 per share, which was one penny more than analysts had expected and 24% higher than last year. Investors weren't willing to look past the so-called "one-time" charges and dropped the stock almost 5% that day.

It wasn't all bad news for Office Depot, however, because its North American results helped ease the pain of the charges somewhat. The North American retail division reported a 10% increase in sales, a 4% increase in comparable store sales, and operating profit growth of 12% despite the charges. The one-time charges were too much for its net income, however, as Office Depot posted a loss of $30 million for the quarter after the $156 million impact.

The business services division in North America didn't perform as well, but it was still OK. Its sales were up 5%, and it managed an operating profit of $60 million in the quarter. Again, this is lower than the $102 million it earned last year, but charges dragged this year's results lower by $56 million. The unit also had to contend with hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which forced a distribution center to close for one month. However, improved operating efficiencies helped the company overcome the impact somewhat.

Unfortunately for Office Depot -- at least for purposes of the third quarter -- its business is not located solely in North America. The company's international business (which accounts for 24% of overall sales) was downright poor. International sales were 4% lower than last year. Operating profit was down 39% to $59 million, compared with $97 million a year ago. We can blame charges once again, right? Well, not exactly. The charges counted only $10 million against the results. Even without their impact, operating profits fell 28.9% in the international market.

It's never easy to determine exactly how much so-called one-time charges should be held against a company. But when a company is sporting a price-to-earnings ratio approaching 39, which is higher than that of industry leader Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS), its business execution has to be nearly flawless. And Office Depot's execution has been anything but. With another $34.3 million in estimated charges expected to affect fourth-quarter results, along with struggles internationally, I can't justify buying into Office Depot at its current price, despite its potential for long-term growth.

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Fool contributor Mike Cianciolo welcomes feedback and doesn't own shares of any of the companies in this article.