Boots sales rise as Walgreens upgrades profit forecast following strong third quarter

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Boots has had a jump in third-quarter sales while parent group Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has upgraded its profit forecast, buoyed by pharmacy sales and administrating Covid-19 vaccinations.

WBA posted a 12.1% increase in third-quarter sales for the period to $34bn (£24.6bn), while operating income was $1.1bn (£0.8bn), up from a $1.7bn (£1.23bn) loss in the same quarter last year.

The retailer said it had administered more than 25 million Covid-19 vaccinations in the US, while store sales at its US pharmacies rose 6.4% in the third quarter as it filled 312.1 million prescriptions.

The group’s international division posted sales of $5.3bn (£3.8bn) – an increase of 75.8% from the same period last year.

Boots UK sales increased 38.7% year on year, with the retailer noting: “Footfall on the high street showed early signs of recovery amid a partial easing of strict lockdown measures, though travel locations in airports and train stations continued to face challenges.”

The retailer’s UK pharmacy sales grew 3.7% while Boots.com saw sales also perform strongly, growing 42.3% in the period.

The strong results for WBA, both domestically in the US and internationally, led the retailer to upgrade its full-year profit forecast by 10 percentage points.

In terms of the year-to-date, WBA group sales increased 7.2% to $98.2bn (£71.1bn), while earnings per share have grown 10.7% to $3.74 (£2.71) per share.

WBA chief executive officer Rosalind Brewer said: “This quarter’s results demonstrate continued momentum and, while challenges lie ahead, we are in a strong position to grow and innovate our core retail and pharmacy businesses for the future.

“We are accelerating our investments to advance our operational excellence, including technology innovations that support mass personalisation, pharmacy of the future and the next phase of growth in tech-enabled healthcare. These investments are fuelled by our Alliance Healthcare divestiture.

“I remain proud of our team members and the essential role they are playing to help end the pandemic as the communities we serve continue to turn to our trusted brands and expert pharmacists.”