by
Sarfaraz A. Khan and Mehreen Tanveer
The leading
American drugs retailer Walgreen (WAG) is gearing up to
release its quarterly results in the current week. The company earns two-thirds
of its revenues from prescription drugs and the rest from general merchandise,
over-the-counter medications, cosmetics, and groceries sales.
Monthly
Sales
In its
previous monthly results for August, Walgreen reported an increase in sales of
5.6% from $5.84 billion last year to $6.17 billion in 2013. Before
that, in July, Walgreen reported sales
of $6.03 billion, an 8% year-over-year increase. The company has so far
reported similar comparable front-end sales growth numbers for both July and
August of 2.3% and 2.2% respectively. Similarly, both months witnessed a drop
in comparable store traffic of 1.2% (July) and 1.5% (August). On the other
hand, basket size increased by 3.5% in July and 3.7% in August.
Fourth
Quarter Expectations
Walgreen will report its
Q4 results on Tuesday, October 1, before the markets open. For the current
quarter, analysts are expecting year-over-year
earnings growth of 40% to $0.73 per share and a 5% growth in revenues to $17.95
billion. In the fourth quarter, the company will likely report a LIFO provision
of $85 million while net interest expense is expected to be between $57 million
and $60 million.
As far as an
earnings beat goes, 2013 has not been a good year for Walgreen. In its current
fiscal year, Walgreen has reported … read full article at Seeking Alpha.
