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Walgreens edges past Wall St's lowered Q4 profit estimates

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Forecasts adj EPS of $1.40-$1.80/shr, vs estimate of

$1.73/shr

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Stock down 65% this year, worst performer on S&P 500 index

By Manas Mishra

Oct 15 (Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA ) said

on Tuesday it would shut 1,200 stores over the next three years

as new CEO Tim Wentworth plots a turnaround at the struggling

pharmacy chain operator hit by sluggish consumer spending and

low drug reimbursement rates.

The company also narrowly beat Wall Street's lowered

estimates for fourth-quarter adjusted profit, and forecast

fiscal-year earnings that were mostly in-line with expectations.

Pharmacy chains are facing their most turbulent time in

recent history as consumers avoid high-priced grocery items and

pressures mount on payments they receive from drug middlemen for

filling prescriptions.

As a result, Walgreens' stock is trading near 30-year lows

and down 65% this year, making it the worst performing stock on

the S&P 500 index.

CEO Wentworth has unveiled a series of changes since taking

on the top job last year, including the removal of multiple

mid-level executives and a $1 billion cost-cutting program.

"This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it

will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the

long term," said Wentworth in a statement.

The closures were announced in June but the company had not

disclosed the number of affected stores at that time. It had

over 8,000 stores in the United States as of Aug. 31 last year.

In the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2024, Walgreens

said it recorded impairment charges on the goodwill of home care

provider CareCentrix and equity investment in China.

Excluding those items and other charges, the company earned

39 cents per share on an adjusted basis. Analysts had expected a

profit of 36 cents per share, according to data compiled by

LSEG.

Comparable retail sales fell 1.7%, hurt by "a challenging

retail environment". Sales of groceries and other items at

Walgreens stores have been hit as consumers increasingly hunt

for bargains and shun higher-priced items.

For fiscal 2025, Walgreens said it expects adjusted earnings

of $1.40 to $1.80 per share, versus estimates of $1.73 per

share.

(Reporting by Manas Mishra in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb

Chakrabarty)