
During the quarter, sales for Retail Pharmacy USA increased 15% while comparable store sales dropped 1.2% from the prior-year period. US pharmacy sales grew 19%, driven primarily by higher prescription volume from the Rite Aid stores acquisition and from central specialty.
Retail Pharmacy International sales improved 6.6% and Pharmaceutical Wholesale sales grew 12.6% compared to the prior-year period.
Walgreens raised the lower end of its fiscal year 2018 outlook by $0.05 per share. The company expects adjusted diluted EPS to come in at $5.90 to $6.05 for the full year.
The board of directors authorized a $10-billion share repurchase program and also increased the quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.44 per share.