Rite Aid takes bigger loss Q2 on lower sales

New York City Rite Aid Corp. on Thursday reported a bigger loss for its fiscal second quarter as its revenue slipped 2.5% and it refinanced some of its debts.

The chain said some sales trends have improved, but predicted a bigger loss that it previously expected and cut its revenue forecast for the current fiscal year.

Rite Aid said it had a net loss of $199.3 million in the quarter ended Aug. 31. Its net loss was $120.4 million. The company said revenue fell to $6.16 billion. Analysts expected $6.19 billion. Same-store sales fell 1.5%.

Rite Aid closed 20 stores during the quarter, remodeled five and relocated one.

Also contributing to Rite Aid's loss were costs related to its wellness-plus customer rewards program. Rite Aid said 22 million shoppers are now participating in the wellness-plus program, which was launched in April. Membership has increased by about 10 million in the last three months. The company also said demand for flu shots has increased compared to last year.