Rite Aid Beats Profit Expectations, But Misses On Sales

Rite Aid Corp. reported Thursday fiscal fourth-quarter earnings that fell to $65.6 million, or 6 cents a share, from $1.84 billion, or $1.79 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share were 7 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 6 cents. Revenue for the drugstore chain, which is being acquired by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. , rose to $8.27 billion from $6.85 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $8.4 billion. Same-store sales declined 0.6%, compared with the FactSet consensus of a 1.8% increase, as both pharmacy and front-end sales unexpectedly fell. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has gained 3.7% year to date, while the S&P 500 has advanced 1.1%.