Rite Aid beats Street with Q3 earnings

Camp Hill, Penn. – Rite Aid Corp. beat Wall Street expectations with net income of $104.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2015, a 46% increase from $71.5 million the same period a year earlier. The improvement in net income resulted primarily from an increase in adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) and a lower last out, first in (LIFO) charge, partially offset by a higher loss on debt retirement.



Revenues increased 5% to $6.7 billion from $6.4 billion, primarily driven by a 5.4% jump in same-store sales. Based upon strong quarterly results, Rite Aid raised its guidance for fiscal 2014. Net income is expected to be between $315 million and $370 million, while sales are expected to be between $26.25 billion and $26.4 billion. Same-store sales to range from an increase of 3.75% to 4.25%.



"We are pleased with our results for the third quarter,” said Rite Aid chairman and CEO John Standley. “Our focus on expanding our health and wellness offering and delivering a higher level of care to the communities we serve drove our strong same-store sales, prescription count and gross profit.”