The second quarter saw Rite Aid losses increase and sales come up short of last year’s period, although a bit ahead of Wall Street projections.
Rite Aid fell short of a MarketBeat-published analyst consensus estimate of a 56 cents per diluted share loss but revenues came in a bit ahead of a $5.86 billion estimate.
Revenues were $5.9 billion versus $6.11 billion in the year-earlier quarter, the company reported.
In the Retail Pharmacy Segment, revenues were $4.23 billion versus $4.28 billion in the year-previous quarter. Comparable sales advanced 5.6% in the period year over year, consisting of an 8% increase in pharmacy sales, partially offset by a 0.3% decrease in front-end sales, which include general merchandise. With cigarette and other tobacco sales excluded, front-end comps gained 0.2%.
“We’ve made good progress on key initiatives during the quarter: driving prescription growth and market share, improving operating margins at Elixir and achieving reductions in SG&A expenses across our business,” said Heyward Donigan, Rite Aid president and CEO, in announcing the financial results. “As we look to the second half of the year, we expect continued pressure on consumer spending and supply chain challenges. At the same time, we are ready to meet a high demand for immunizations, while driving continued strong performance at Elixir and further SG&A expense reductions.”
Elixir is a wholly owned Rite Aid subsidiary that provides pharmacy benefits and services.
