Walgreens fourth-quarter profit slumps 44.9% as COVID-19 hits store sales

(Reuters) – Drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc said on Thursday its quarterly profit slumped 44.9%, as COVID-19 hampered sales at its retail stores in the United States and at its Boots UK unit.

However, the company said it expected single-digit growth in its 2021 adjusted earnings per share.

Net income attributable to Walgreens fell to $373 million or 43 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Aug. 31, from $677 million, or 75 cents per share, a year earlier.

(Reporting By Manas Mishra and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi)