Walgreens Boot Alliance (WBA) reported earnings on Tue 5 Apr 2016 (b/o)

** charts after earnings **

 

Walgreens Boot Alliance beats by $0.03, misses on revs; raises low end of FY16 EPS, in-line; Rite Aid deal on track for 2H close :

• Reports Q2 (Feb) earnings of $1.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better thanthe Capital IQ Consensus of $1.28; revenues rose 13.6% year/year to $30.18 bln vs the $30.67 bln Capital IQ Consensus, largely due to the full consolidation of Alliance Boots for the entire quarter this year, while foreign currency translation adversely impacted sales by ~$750 million or 2.4%. Adjusted fiscal 2016 second quarter net earnings attributable to Walgreens Boots Alliance1 increased 14.4 percent to $1.4 billion.
  • Retail Pharmacy USA: The Retail Pharmacy USA division, whose principal retail pharmacy brands are Walgreens and Duane Reade, had second quarter total sales of $21.5 billion, an increase of 2.1% over the year-ago quarter. Sales in comparable stores increased 2.2% compared with the same quarter a year ago. Pharmacy sales, which accounted for 65.0% of the division's total sales in the quarter, increased 3.2% compared with the year-ago quarter, while comparable pharmacy sales increased 3.7%.
  • The Retail Pharmacy International division, whose principal retail brands are Boots in the UK, Thailand, Norway, the Republic of Ireland and The Netherlands, Benavides in Mexico and Ahumada in Chile, had second quarter total sales of $3.7 billion. On a pro forma constant currency basis, comparable store sales in the second quarter increased 2.3% compared with the same period a year ago, led by growth in the UK and by strong growth in the Republic of Ireland. Comparable pharmacy sales increased 2.6% in the second quarter compared with last year's second quarter, driven by good growth in the UK. 
• Combined net synergies were $329 million in the fiscal 2016 second quarter and $617 million in the first six months of fiscal 2016. The co 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. 
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $4.35-4.55 from $4.30-4.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.48 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance is continuing its integration planning and continues to expect the Rite Aid (RAD) transaction to close in the second half of calendar 2016.