Rite Aid Corp. RAD, -1.91% shares rose 1.3% in Thursday premarket trading after the pharmacy retailer reported a fourth-quarter sales beat. Net losses totaled $18.5 million, or 34 cents per share, after a loss of $324.7 million, or $6.08 per share, last year. Adjusted losses of 78 cents per share were ahead of the FactSet consensus for a loss of 90 cents per share. Revenue of $5.92 billion was up from $5.73 billion last year and also ahead of the FactSet consensus for $5.85 billion. The quarter was impacted by “a historically soft cough, cold and flu season, the deferral of elective procedures and related acute prescription volume and the impact of COVID-19 on selling, general and administrative expenses,” Chief Executive Heyward Donigan said in a statement. For March and April to date, Rite Aid has administered two million COVID-19 vaccine shots, and Donigan said prescription trends heading back “to positive levels.” For the first quarter, Rite Aid is guiding for net income between $10 million and a net loss of $10 million and retail pharmacy revenue between $6.1 billion and $6.3 billion. The company expects COVID-19 to continue to have an impact. The FactSet consensus is for pharmacy sales of $6.084 billion. Rite Aid stock is up 20.3% for the year to date while the S&P 500 index [s spx] has gained 9.8% for the period.
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