Walgreens Boots Alliance lost $308 million in its first fiscal quarter on a big charge tied to its stake in the drug wholesaler AmerisourceBergen.
COVID-19 also continued to eat away at its business, particularly in the United Kingdom. But the drugstore chain’s overall performance topped expectations and shares climbed after markets opened.
Walgreens executives told analysts Thursday morning that the ongoing pandemic delivered a hit of between $290 million to $325 million to the company’s adjusted operating income in the quarter. That’s a lower amount than in the two previous quarters, and company officials have said they expect the pandemic’s impact to subside in the second half of the fiscal year.
In its fiscal first quarter, Walgreens booked a $1.5 billion charge tied to its ownership share of AmerisourceBergen. Walgreens has a roughly 30% stake in the company, and the charge accounted for Walgreens’ portion of a recent AmerisourceBergen quarterly loss, a spokesperson said.
—Tom Murphy, Associated Press