Rite Aid Posts Narrower Q1 Loss Than Expected, Reaffirms 201

June 24, 2011

Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD) reported a first quarter per share loss of $0.07 today, beating the consensus estimate for a loss of $0.12 per share. Revenues in the quarter were flat year-over-year at $6.39 billion, in-line with the consensus estimate.John Standley, Rite Aid president and CEO said, "We are pleased with the continued improvement in our results. We increased Adjusted EBITDA as we again grew same store sales and further reduced operating costs. Our sales initiatives continued to gain traction with the number of members enrolled in our wellness+ customer loyalty program reaching nearly 40 million. Prescriptions filled in comparable stores increased as customers took advantage of our new pharmacy programs."The company reaffirmed its 2012 outlook, seeing a loss of $0.42 to $0.64 per share, vs. the consensus estimate for a loss of $0.54 per share, on revenues of $25.7 billion to $26.1 billion, vs. the consensus estimate for $25.6 billion.