Walgreens (NASDAQ:WBA) Beats Profit Expectations

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By Jacob Maslow

WalgreensWalgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) has been trying to boost profits after announcing a $1 billion cost-cutting program that would be rolled out over a three year period. The company now plans to increase cost-cutting by $1.5 billion by August of 2017.

Recently merging with Alliance Boots, a European company, Walgreens has announced that they plan to close 200 stores that are underperforming and open 200 stores in their place in highly trafficked areas.

The company released their first earnings report with a 35.5% rise in net sales. The company announced $26.6 billion in sales, which fell short of analyst expectations of $27.7 billion. While lower than expected, the company’s earnings per share was much higher than the forecasted $0.95 a share, ending at $1.18 per share.

Much of the company’s net sales increase is due to merging with the Boots brand.

The drugstore business accounted for $21 billion of all sales, while the Pharmacy sales accounted for 64.4% of all U.S. sales by the company.

In comparison, the company’s international division only saw a 2.9% rise in sales in the months of January and February.

Net income with Boots included was $2.04 billion, with the Walgreens brand accounting for $716 million of the net income.

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