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Walgreens saw a nearly 9% drop in U.S. pharmacy sales.
Photo:
Jake Dockins for The Wall Street Journal
posted a 5.3% drop in revenue in its recently completed quarter as it filled fewer prescriptions and administered fewer Covid-19 vaccinations.
The Deerfield, Ill.-based drugstore chain saw a nearly 9% drop in U.S. pharmacy sales, after giving 2.9 million Covid-19 vaccinations and 3.4 million PCR tests in the period. This compares with 13.5 million vaccinations in the same period a year earlier.
The unit was also weighed down by declines in AllianceRX Walgreens, the company’s specialty and home-delivery pharmacy division.
Overall, Walgreens logged $32.4 billion in revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, slightly ahead of the $32.09 billion expected by analysts recently polled by FactSet.
The company posted a net loss of $415 million, or 48 cents a share, compared with a profit of $358 million, or 41 cents, for the prior year. Walgreens said it registered a nearly $800 million noncash impairment charge related to its U.K. pharmacy chain business in the quarter, as well as higher costs related to a restructuring plan.
On an adjusted basis, excluding costs such as the acquisition of Shields Health Solutions, the company said earnings were 80 cents a share. Analysts expected 77 cents a share.
For the current fiscal year, Walgreens said it expects adjusted per-share earnings between $4.45 and $4.65, which compares to Wall Street expectations for $4.51 a share.
Shares rose 6.7% in premarket trading to $34.10.
Write to Sabela Ojea at [email protected]
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