DEERFIELD, ILL. — Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA) unveiled in its fiscal year 2024 earnings report that it plans to close 1,200 stores over the next three years, including approximately 500 closures in fiscal 2025.
“In fiscal 2025, we are focusing on stabilizing the retail pharmacy by optimizing our footprint, controlling operating costs, improving cash flow and continuing to address reimbursement models to support dispensing margins and preserve patient access for the future,” says Tim Wentworth, CEO. “Fiscal 2025 will be an important rebasing year as we advance our strategy to drive value creation. This turnaround will take time, but we are confident it will yield significant financial and consumer benefits over the long term.”
In its fourth quarter, the Deerfield-based company posted a $3 billion loss, which was mostly derived from tax charges related to opioid liabilities and a write down of an investment in a Chinese pharmacy chain. Fourth-quarter sales increased 6 percent from the same period a year ago to $37.5 billion. Sales in fiscal 2024 were $147.7 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent from the same period a year ago. Net loss in fiscal 2024 was $8.6 billion, an increase of 180.4 percent over the year prior.