US healthcare, pharmacy and retail company Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has disclosed a net loss of $2.85bn for the second quarter (Q2) of fiscal 2025 (FY25) – a 51.7% reduction from the $5.91bn net loss reported in Q2 FY24.
The decreased loss was attributed to non-cash impairment charges, partially mitigated by an after-tax gain of $1bn from the early settlement of variable prepaid forward derivatives associated with the monetisation of Cencora shares, alongside gains from investments in BrightSpring.
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The company’s loss per share for the quarter stood at $3.30, showing an improvement from a loss per share of $6.85 in the same quarter of the previous year.
Sales for WBA rose by 4.1% to $38.59bn in Q2 FY25, propelled by performance improvements in both the US retail pharmacy and international segments.
WBA chief executive officer Tim Wentworth stated: “Second quarter results reflect disciplined cost management and improvement in US healthcare, which were partially offset by weaker front-end results in US retail pharmacy, while significant legal settlements resulted in continued negative free cash flow.
“We remain in the early stages of our turnaround plan, and continue to expect that meaningful value creation will take time, enhanced focus and balancing future cash needs with necessary investments to navigate a changing pharmacy and retail landscape.”
In the first half of fiscal 2025, WBA’s sales rose to $78.05bn – a 5.8% increase from the same period of the previous year.
The net loss attributable to WBA for these six months contracted to $3.19bn, down 47.8% from a net loss of $5.98bn in the same period one year earlier.
The company’s diluted loss per share also fell to $3.61 from $6.93 year-on-year.
The operating loss for WBA decreased substantially to $5.81bn compared to an operating loss of $13.21bn reported in last year’s equivalent period.
On 6 March 2025, WBA made a definitive agreement for acquisition by entities connected with Sycamore Partners for $23.7bn.
Anticipated to be finalised in Q4 of calendar year 2025, this merger is contingent upon shareholder and regulatory approvals, and other closing conditions.
Post-completion, WBA’s common stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stock Market as it transitions into a privately-held entity.
In the light of this impending transaction, WBA has retracted its fiscal guidance for 2025.
