(Reuters) — Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. reported a quarterly net loss on Thursday as it took a $6.5 billion hit in opioid litigation, sending its shares down nearly 2% in premarket trading.
Walgreens and rivals CVS Health Corp. and Walmart Inc. agreed in November to pay about $13.8 billion to settle thousands of state and local lawsuits accusing the pharmacy chains of mishandling opioid painkillers.
CVS took a $5.2 billion pretax charge in its third quarter related to the settlement.
Walgreens, one of the largest U.S. drugstores, had been relying on profits from administering COVID-19 vaccines to offset losses from low prescription volumes due to the pandemic, but has seen demand for the shots fall from a peak last year.
The drugstore chain has been looking to expand outside its core business, spending $5.5 billion in 2021
to take majority stakes in health care providers VillageMD and CareCentrix.In November, Walgreens said it would acquire urgent care provider Summit Health through its VillageMD unit in a $9 billion deal to expand its healthcare footprint.
Net loss attributable to Walgreens was $3.72 billion, or $4.31 per share, for the quarter ended Nov. 30, compared with a profit of $3.58 billion, or $4.13 per share, in the year-ago period year.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.16 per share in its first quarter, topping Refinitiv IBES estimates of $1.14 per share.
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