===Walgreens Boot Alliance (WBA) reported earnings on Wed 6 July 2016 (b/o)

Walgreens Boot Alliance beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; raises low end of FY16 EPS, in-line; reaffirms RAD acquisition to close 2H  :

• Reports Q3 (May) earnings of $1.18 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.14; revenues rose 2.4% year/year to $29.5 bln vs the $29.72 bln Capital IQ Consensus, or 3.3% on a constant currency basis.
  • Retail Pharmacy USA had third quarter total sales of $21.2 billion, an increase of 3.7% over the year-ago quarter. Sales in comparable stores increased 3.9%, just above estimates. Pharmacy sales, which accounted for 67.4% of the division's total sales in the quarter, increased 5.8% compared with the year-ago quarter, while comparable pharmacy sales increased 6.0%.
  • Adjusted fiscal 2016 third quarter net earnings attributable to Walgreens Boots Alliance increased 14.7% to $1.3 billion..
  • Combined net synergies were $330 million in the fiscal 2016 third quarter.
• $1 billion fiscal 2016 combined net synergy goal achieved in June.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, raises EPS to $4.45-4.55 from $4.35-4.55, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.49 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Walgreens Boots Alliance is continuing its integration planning and continues to expect the Rite Aid (RAD) transaction to close in the second half of calendar 2016.