Walgreens cuts profit view, to shut more stores on spending hit

By Bhanvi Satija and Sneha S K

(Reuters) - (This June 27 story has been corrected to drop a reference to Walgreens closing 700 stores in the U.S. as the number was already reported, in the headline and paragraph 1, and to remove the second paragraph that had references to the company closing Boots stores and taking a related charge as the information had already been reported)

Walgreens Boots Alliance cut its profit forecast for fiscal 2024 and said it would close underperforming U.S. stores as weak consumer spending hurts retail operations.

The drugstore operator's CEO, Tim Wentworth, who came on board last October, had set in motion a complete overhaul at Walgreens through store closures, the removal of multiple mid-level executives and a $1 billion cost-cutting plan.

Walgreens had also halved its dividend to 25 cents per share earlier this year in an attempt to conserve cash as sticky inflation dampens spending on over-the-counter products and reimbursement payments for filling prescriptions come under pressure.

"The results this morning were just absolutely terrible. I mean, it's kind of been the theme over the last three to eight earnings reports to be brutally honest," said David Wagner, portfolio manager and equity analyst at Aptus Capital Advisors.

"They brought in new CEO Tim Wentworth and he has a good history on the healthcare services side", but investors are focused on his next steps, said Wagner, whose firm owns 241,583 Walgreens shares through a unit.

Walgreens expects these challenges to persist into fiscal 2025 and is open to reviewing more store closures.

"We have a really strong level of conviction around the core business (retail pharmacy) that we are remodeling here" and the changes will take a few "quarters ... and not necessarily multiple years", Wentworth said.

Walgreens will also simplify its U.S. healthcare portfolio that includes primary care provider VillageMD. Wentworth told the Wall Street Journal the company will no longer be VillageMD's majority owner.

It will, however, continue investing in its Boots UK and Shields pharmacy businesses.

As of May 31, Walgreens had closed 581 stores in the UK and 673 stores in the U.S., according to a regulatory filing.

The company forecast an annual adjusted profit of $2.80 to $2.95 per share, lower than its earlier estimate of $3.20 to $3.35. Analysts expect $3.20 per share, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija, Christy Santhosh, Sneha S K, and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath and Krishna Chandra Eluri)