Why Rite Aid Hit a New Multiyear Low

Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD) watched its shares hit a multiyear low on Thursday after the company reported its most recent quarterly results. The company posted a net loss of $0.01 per share on $7.68 billion revenue, compared with consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for a net loss of $0.01 per share and $7.83 billion in revenue. The fiscal second quarter of last year reportedly had earnings of $0.03 per share on revenue of $8.03 billion.

Same-store sales for the quarter decreased 3.4% over the prior year, consisting of a 4.6% decrease in pharmacy sales and a 0.9% decrease in front-end sales.

Retail Pharmacy segment revenues were $6.3 billion and fell 3.4% year over year, primarily as a result of a decrease in same-store sales and reimbursement rates. Revenues in the company’s Pharmacy Services segment were $1.5 billion and dropped 8.7% compared to the prior year period, due to an election to participate in fewer Medicare Part D regions.

Prescription sales accounted for 67.8% of total drugstore sales, and third-party prescription revenue was 98.3% of pharmacy sales.

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On the books, Rite Aid’s cash and cash equivalents totaled $238.98 million at the end of the quarter, down from $245.41 million at the end of the previous fiscal year.

John Standley, Rite Aid’s board chair and chief executive, commented:

While our performance for the quarter reflects a challenging reimbursement rate environment and the effects of an extended merger and asset sale process, securing regulatory clearance for the amended asset sale agreement with Walgreens Boots Alliance gives us a clear path forward to realize the benefits of the transaction and implement our plans to deliver improved results. In addition, we’ve announced this morning that Kermit Crawford – a proven leader with extensive retail pharmacy experience – is joining Rite Aid as president and chief operating officer to further strengthen our leadership team.

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Shares of Rite Aid were last seen down about 11% at $2.02, with a consensus analyst price target of $2.45 and a 52-week range of $2.01 to $8.77.

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