Rite Aid Q4 Profit Tops Expectations

Rite Aid Inc. RAD reported upbeat earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. The Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based company posted quarterly net income of $1.835 billion, or $1.79 per share, versus $55.4 million, or $0.06 per share, in the year-ago period. The latest quarter results included $1.67 per share in income tax benefit. Its revenue for the quarter climbed to $6.8 billion from $6.6 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.07 per share on revenue of $6.80 billion. Same store sales rose 4.5% in the quarter, including a 5.7% gain in pharmacy sales and a 2.0% rise in front-end sales. The number of prescriptions filled in same stores climbed 3.5% y/y in the quarter. Pre-tax income climbed to $119.1 million, or $0.12 per share, compared to $49.4 million, or $0.05 per share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA dropped to $343.3 million from $356.3 million. "In the fourth quarter, our strong growth in same-store sales and prescription count as well as strong cost control helped drive continued profitability," said Rite Aid Chairman and CEO John Standley. "These positive results contributed to a successful year in which we took significant steps to further position Rite Aid as a retail healthcare company." The average estimate among 32 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.10 per share and revenue of $6.79 billion. For fiscal 2016, Rite Aid projects earnings of $0.19 to $0.27 per share, on sales of $26.9 billion to $27.4 billion. Analysts had expected earnings of $0.43 per share on revenue of $27.97 billion. Rite Aid shares gained 3.57% to $9.00 in pre-market trading.