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CAMP HILL, Pa. — Ahead of the August 9 shareholders vote on the proposed merger with Albertsons, Rite Aid Corp. reported operating results for its first fiscal quarter ended June 2, 2018.
For the first quarter, the company reported net loss from continuing operations of $41.7 million, or $0.04 per share, Adjusted net loss from continuing operations of $11.5 million, or $0.01 per share, and Adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $147.3 million, or 2.7 %t of revenues.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2019, the retailer reported net income of $214.4 million, or $0.20 per share. Net income for the first quarter included an after-tax gain of approximately $268.6 million relating to the sale of 281 stores to Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (WBA), which completed the sale of stores and related assets to WBA. The sale of the three distribution centers and related inventory is expected to occur after September 1, 2018. As a result of the proceeds received from the store sales, Rite Aid’s debt, net of cash, was $3.0 billion as of June 2, 2018.
“During the first quarter our retail pharmacy segment delivered strong results with an increase in Adjusted EBITDA compared to the prior year for the second consecutive quarter, while our pharmacy services segment results reflect the operating investments we made to support growth,” said Rite Aid chairman and chief executive officer John Standley.
“As we continue to focus on taking care of our customers and executing our stand alone strategy, we have the opportunity to further accelerate our strategy by combining with Albertsons to create a truly differentiated leader in food, health and wellness. This combination will enhance our scale and density to better compete in existing markets, give us access to new markets, significantly improve our omni-channel capabilities and create the opportunity to achieve substantial cost synergies and revenue growth, all of which will strengthen our financial profile and position us to deliver compelling long-term value for customers and shareholders,” he added.
Rite Aid president and chief operating officer Kermit Crawford added: “In the first quarter, we continued making progress in building momentum for key areas of our business, including improvement in pharmacy gross margin and the successful relaunch of our customer loyalty program wellness+ rewards. As we continue to implement our new strategy, we’re excited about the unique opportunity we have to significantly grow our business through a combination with Albertsons, which will give us access to nearly 1,800 additional pharmacy counters, innovative and healthy new own brand products like O Organics and Open Nature as well as provide new levers for growth for our EnvisionRxOptions PBM and RediClinic.”
