Walgreens Boot Alliance beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line; raises low end of FY16 EPS, in-line; RAD acquisition progressing as planned
- Reports Q1 (Nov) earnings of $1.03 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.97; revenues rose 48.5% year/year to $29.03 bln vs the $29.24 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
- Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $4.30-4.55 (from $4.25-4.55), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.43 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
- Retail US Pharmacy: Sales in comparable stores increased 5.8% compared with the same quarter a year ago. Pharmacy sales, which accounted for 68.4% of division total sales in the quarter, increased 6.7% compared with the year-ago quarter, while comparable pharmacy sales increased 9.3%.
- Retail Pharmacy Int'l: On a pro forma constant currency basis, comparable store sales in the first quarter increased 2.2% compared with the same period a year ago, with particularly strong growth in Mexico and the Republic of Ireland. Comparable pharmacy sales increased 3.8% in the first quarter compared with last year's first quarter, driven by good growth in dispensing and pharmacy services in the UK and Mexico.
- The company continues to expect to reach at least $1.0 billion in combined net synergies in fiscal 2016 relating to the strategic combination with Alliance Boots.
- Walgreens Boots Alliance's proposed acquisition of Rite Aid (RAD) is progressing as planned. Rite Aid has scheduled a special meeting of its stockholders for 4 February 2016 to, among other things, consider and vote on a proposal to approve the Agreement and Plan of Merger related to the proposed acquisition. Walgreens Boots Alliance continues to expect the transaction to close in 2H16.