By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) stock traded 1.6% lower in premarket Thursday after the drug store chain posted disappointing second quarter revenue.
While overall sales rose 3% to almost $34 billion, decline in sales at its AllianceRx Walgreens business hurt the pharmacy retailer. Pharmacy sales fell 3.3% compared to the year-ago quarter, negatively impacted by as much as 9.1 percentage points due to the AllianceRx Walgreens business.
The company completed the consolidation of AllianceRx Walgreens on December 31, it said in a release.
Overall sales benefited from an Omicron-led demand for COVID-19 vaccination and testing. A fresh spike in cases in January helped it administer about 11.8 million vaccines and 6.6 million tests in the second quarter.
U.S. retail comparable sales grew almost 15% and was the highest in over 20 years. Digital sales in its largest market were up 38%, boosted by same-day pick-up orders.
Adjusted net profit was about 26% higher at $1.4 billion in the second quarter ended February 28.
The company said the strategic review of the Boots business is progressing. It plans to sell the U.K.’s largest drugstore chain and, according to reports, has offers from Bain Capital and CVC Capital Partners.
The company is maintaining its full-year adjusted EPS guidance of low-single-digit growth.