Continue reading Walgreen (WAG) soars on earnings report

Walgreen (WAG) soars on earnings report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Have you heard about Kroger's discount drugs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 28 Oct 2007 16:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

California-based Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: WPI) posted good 1Q 2007 numbers overall. For the quarter, net revenue was $671.6 million, with net income of $31.6 million and diluted EPS of $0.29. Factoring in some of the costs of acquiring Andrx Corporation, legal costs, and debt repurchase costs, adjusted net income was $37.3 million, $0.34 diluted EPS.

Watson Pharmaceuticals includes both generic and branded divisions, both of which reported double digit revenue increases. Generic division revenue was $424.6 million, up 32% or $102.5 million. This increase was driven by the sales of Andrx products as well as the sale of oxycodone HCI controlled-release tablets, the sale of which has been halted. Also sales of oral contraceptives products increased $9.6 million to $85.6 million. The much smaller branded division boosted net revenue for the quarter by 19% to $101.5 million, an increase of $16.4 million.

These positive numbers allowed the company to make $150 million worth of debt repayments in 1Q 2007. CEO Allen Chao states that the company is well placed to expand the number of generic and proprietary products it brings to market, while at the same time controlling operating costs and seeking out additional partners. Watson Pharmaceuticals is facing a number of additional costs related to its acquisition of Andrx Corporation, including over $23 million in additional administrative costs, and several million dollars worth of inventory charges for Andrx products. Pharmaceutical companies generally will face increased costs for clinical trials.

If the company is correct in its assessment of prescriptions trends, prescription prices, and the introduction of new products, then it forecasts FY 2007 net revenue between $2.5 and $2.6 billion.

Watson Pharmaceuticals posts 1Q earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 24 May 2007 11:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG) released Q4 2006 figures on Monday, 25 September 2006. Earnings grew 25% based largely on an 18% increase in prescription drug sales and a 16% increase in total revenue to $12.17 billion from $10.49 billion. Q4 earnings were $412.3 million. Earnings per share for the quarter were .41, up from $329 million or .32 per share in Q4 2005. Walgreen opened or acquired 476 new stores in fiscal 2006, giving the company a total of 5,461 stores in the US and Puerto Rico. Walgreen costs related to Hurricane Katrina were almost $55 million. Full year earnings increased to $1.75 billion from $1.56 billion in FY 2005. EPS for 2006 were $1.72, up from $1.52 in 2005.

Things were looking good for another year of expansion, and then Wal-Mart announced last Thursday it would drop prices on almost 300 generic drugs to $4 per prescription. Walgreen stock has dropped 11% since the announcement, closing at $44.47 on Monday, 25 September. Walgreen CFO Rick Hans has spent a lot of time talking to investors since the Wal-Mart announcement. He claims 95% of Walgreen pharmacy patients have prescription insurance coverage. Wal-Mart's $4 per generic prescription drug "won't significantly impact our business."

Who is this guy trying to kid? Sounds a lot like whistling past the graveyard. Walgreen is betting its continued financial health on its convenient locations and higher level of customer service. Will that be enough to counteract Wal-Mart's massive 'always low prices' publicity machine?

Continue reading Walgreen 4Q profits: the good times won't last

Walgreen 4Q profits: the good times won't last originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Sep 2006 11:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.