By Tess Stynes 
 

Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) said its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 55%, despite continued revenue growth, owing to impacts of one-time items such as inventory-accounting adjustments and debt-extinguishment charges.

Shares rose 8.3% to $6.93 in recent premarket trading, as adjusted earnings topped expectations and Rite Aid's fiscal-year revenue guidance topped Wall Street views.

For the new fiscal year, the company forecast per-share earnings of 31 cents to 42 cents and revenue of $26 billion to $26.5 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of 35 cents and revenue of $25.75 billion.

On Thursday, Rite Aid also said it acquired regional retail-clinic operator RediClinic. The provider of treatment for common conditions and preventative services has 30 clinics in the Houston, Austin and San Antonio areas. Rite Aid said it plans to open new RediClinics in some of its markets, as well as support RediClinic's expansion in Texas.

The company also recently acquired Health Dialog Services Corp., adding a provider of health coaching, analystics and other services.

The acquisitions come as the broader pharmacy and drugstore sector has been expanding offerings in the health and wellness space.

Chief Executive John Standley cited the recent acquisitions and the company's expanded distribution agreement with drug wholesaler McKesson Corp. (MCK) to include generic drugs among the factors positioning Rite Aid "to transition its strategy from turnaround to growth as we more aggressively pursue opportunities to become a growing retail health-care company."

For the period ended March 1, Rite Aid reported a profit of $55.4 million, or six cents a share, down from $123.1 million, or 13 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as inventory-accounting impacts and debt-extinguishment losses, adjusted earnings rose to 10 cents a share from seven cents a share.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of four cents.

Rite Aid last month reported that total drugstore sales increased 2.2% to $6.57 billion and that same-store sales rose 2.1%. In the front of the store, same-store sales edged down 0.7%, while they increased 3.5% in the pharmacy section.

Generic drug introductions had a negative impact of 1.23 percentage points on same-store pharmacy sales. Same-store prescription counts declined 1.8%.

The No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain by sales behind Walgreen Co. (WAG) and CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) has posted a string of quarterly profits in a turnaround following years of losses.

The company's loyalty program has bolstered its sales. Rite Aid, which has nearly 4,600 stores, also has worked to improve its balance sheet.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

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