As drug sales rebound, Walgreens raises profit forecast Reuters

(Reuters)-Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc raised its adjusted earnings growth forecast for 2021 on Thursday, after increased pharmacy sales and the widespread launch of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States helped it exceed its third-quarter revenue expectations.

The Deerfield, Illinois-based company is one of the largest pharmacies in the United States, and its stock price rose 2.3% to $53.83 in premarket trading.

Walgreens has been relying on the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination to survive the losses caused by low prescriptions and weak flu season, which hinders over-the-counter sales of health and wellness products.

The company said that as of June 30, of the 326.5 million injections performed in the United States, more than 25 million COVID-19 vaccinations have been performed so far.

During the quarter, Walgreens Pharmacy’s same-store prescription drugs increased by 9.8%, of which the COVID-19 vaccine dose increased by 6%.

Rite Aid (NYSE:), a competitor that operates a chain of drugstores in the United States, also reported an increase in pharmacy sales in the most recent quarter.

As part of the lockdown was lifted, Walgreens’ Boots UK division’s retail sales increased by 38.7%.

The company raised its adjusted earnings per share growth forecast for 2021 from mid to high single digits to around 10%.

For the quarter ended May 31, the net profit attributable to Walgreens was US$1.2 billion, or US$1.38 per share, while the net loss in the same period last year was US$1.71 billion, or US$1.95 per share.

Revenue for the quarter increased by 12.1% to 34 billion U.S. dollars, higher than the expected 33.8 billion U.S. dollars.