Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD) today reported operating results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended February 27, 2016.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $8.3 billion, net income of $65.6 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, Adjusted net income of $76.1 million, or $0.07 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $383.0 million, or 4.6 percent of revenues. For the full year, the company reported revenues of $30.7 billion, net income of $165.5 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, Adjusted net income of $241.0 million or $0.23 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $1,402.3 million, or 4.6 percent of revenues.

“Our positive fourth-quarter results helped us deliver a successful fiscal year that reflects the tremendous progress we’re making to expand our retail healthcare offering,” said Rite Aid Chairman and CEO John Standley. “In the fourth quarter, we generated nearly $40 million of growth in Adjusted EBITDA, including an increase in our Retail Pharmacy Segment and strong results from our new Pharmacy Services Segment. This was one of many key highlights of fiscal 2016, which was a transformational year that saw us acquire EnvisionRx, launch the ground-breaking wellness+ with Plenti program, complete our 2,000th Wellness store and exceed $30 billion in revenues for the first time.”

“We look forward to building upon this success and to continue delivering a higher level of care in the communities we serve. We thank our dedicated Rite Aid associates for their hard work in executing our strategy and providing an even better retail healthcare experience for our customers. We’re also excited about our opportunity to join forces with Walgreens Boots Alliance to further expand consumer access to health care as part of the first global, pharmacy-led health and wellbeing enterprise.”

Fourth Quarter Summary

Revenues for the quarter were $8.3 billion compared to revenues of $6.8 billion in the prior year’s fourth quarter, an increase of $1.4 billion or 20.8 percent. Retail Pharmacy Segment revenues were $6.8 billion and decreased 0.3 percent compared to the prior year period primarily as a result of a decrease in same store sales. Pharmacy Services Segment revenues were $1.5 billion.

Same store sales for the quarter decreased 0.6 percent over the prior year, consisting of a 0.8 percent decrease in pharmacy sales and a 0.4 percent decrease in front-end sales. Pharmacy sales included an approximate 241 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. The number of prescriptions filled in same stores increased 0.1 percent over the prior year period. Prescription sales accounted for 68.1 percent of total drugstore sales, and third party prescription revenue was 97.9 percent of pharmacy sales.

Adjusted net income (which is reconciled to net income in the attached tables) was $76.1 million or $0.07 per diluted share compared to last year’s fourth quarter adjusted net income of $65.2 million or $0.06 per diluted share.

Adjusted EBITDA (which is reconciled to net income in the attached tables) was $383.0 million or 4.6 percent of revenues for the fourth quarter compared to $343.3 million or 5.0 percent of revenues for the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA improved due to $34.2 million of Pharmacy Services Segment Adjusted EBITDA and an increase of $5.5 million in Retail Pharmacy Segment Adjusted EBITDA. The increase in Retail Pharmacy Segment Adjusted EBITDA was driven by an increase in front-end gross profit, partially offset by a decrease in pharmacy gross profit and an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses.

In the fourth quarter, the company opened 3 stores, relocated 10 stores, remodeled 89 stores and expanded 1 store, bringing the total number of wellness stores chainwide to 2,042. The company also acquired 2 stores and closed 4 stores, resulting in a total store count of 4,561 at the end of the fourth quarter. The company also opened 3 clinics in the fourth quarter, bringing the total to 78.

Full Year Results

For the fiscal year ended February 27, 2016, Rite Aid had revenues of $30.7 billion compared to revenues of $26.5 billion in the prior year, an increase of $4.2 billion or 15.9 percent. Retail Pharmacy Segment revenues were $26.9 billion and increased 1.3 percent compared to the prior year primarily as a result of an increase in same store sales. Pharmacy Services Segment revenues were $4.1 billion from the date of the acquisition of EnvisionRx, which was June 24, 2015, through the end of the fiscal year.

Same store sales for the year increased 1.3 percent consisting of a 1.8 percent increase in pharmacy sales and a 0.2 percent increase in front end sales. Pharmacy sales included an approximate 221 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. The number of prescriptions filled in same stores increased 0.5 percent over the prior year period. Prescription sales accounted for 69.1 percent of total drugstore sales, and third party prescription revenue was 97.8 percent of pharmacy sales.

Adjusted net income for fiscal 2016 was $241.0 million or $0.23 per diluted share compared to last year’s adjusted net income of $273.0 million or $0.27 per diluted share. The decline in adjusted net income resulted primarily from increased interest expense incurred in connection with the company’s acquisition of EnvisionRx and higher depreciation expense related to an increase in capital spending, partially offset by an increase in Adjusted EBITDA.

Adjusted EBITDA was $1,402.3 million or 4.6 percent of revenues for the year compared to $1,322.8 million or 5.0 percent of revenues for last year. Adjusted EBITDA improved due to $101.4 million of Pharmacy Services Segment Adjusted EBITDA, partially offset by a decrease of $21.9 million in Retail Pharmacy Segment Adjusted EBITDA. The decrease in Retail Pharmacy Segment Adjusted EBITDA was due to an increase in selling, general and administrative expenses related to our higher level of sales and a decrease in pharmacy gross profit, partially offset by an increase in front-end gross profit.

Operating cash flow for fiscal 2016 was approximately $1.0 billion, due to strong Adjusted EBITDA results and contributions from working capital management. Working capital primarily benefited from a reduction in store level pharmacy inventory. The company used this operating cash flow to fund capital expenditures and to reduce borrowings following the acquisition of EnvisionRx.

For the year, the company relocated 20 stores, acquired 6 stores, remodeled 412 stores, expanded 2 stores, opened 5 stores, and closed 20 stores. The company also opened 23 clinics during the fiscal year.

As previously announced on October 27, 2015, Rite Aid and Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (“WBA”) entered into a definitive agreement under which WBA will acquire all outstanding shares of Rite Aid for $9.00 per share in cash, for a total enterprise value of approximately $17.2 billion, including acquired net debt. The board of directors of both companies and Rite Aid’s shareholders have approved the transaction, which is subject to certain conditions, including, among others, the receipt of approval under applicable antitrust laws and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar 2016.

Given the agreement with WBA described above, and as is customary for transactions of this type, Rite Aid does not intend to provide earnings guidance for fiscal 2017.

Rite Aid is one of the nation’s leading drugstore chains with 4,561 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through Rite Aid’s website at www.riteaid.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

Statements in this release that are not historical and statements regarding the expected timing of the closing of the proposed merger and the ability of the parties to complete such transaction considering the various closing conditions and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” and “will” and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, our high level of indebtedness and our ability to make interest and principal payments on our debt and satisfy the other covenants contained in our debt agreements, general economic, market and competitive conditions, our ability to improve the operating performance of our stores in accordance with our long term strategy, the impact of private and public third-party payers continued reduction in prescription drug reimbursements and efforts to encourage mail order, our ability to manage expenses and our investments in working capital, outcomes of legal and regulatory matters, changes in legislation or regulations, including healthcare reform, and risks related to the proposed merger. These and other risks, assumptions and uncertainties are more fully described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, in the definitive proxy statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 21, 2015 in connection with the proposed merger, and in other documents that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which you are encouraged to read. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Additionally, there can be no assurance that the proposed merger will be completed, or if it is completed, that it will close within the anticipated time period or that the expected benefits of the proposed merger will be realized. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Rite Aid expressly disclaims any current intention to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the distribution of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

The company separately reports financial results on the basis of Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income per diluted share, and Adjusted EBITDA, which are non-GAAP financial measures. See the attached tables for a reconciliation of Adjusted Net Income, Adjusted Net Income per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA to net income, which is a comparable GAAP financial measure. Adjusted Net Income and Adjusted Net Income per diluted share excludes amortization of EnvisionRx intangible assets, acquisition-related costs, loss on debt retirements and LIFO adjustments. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income excluding the impact of income taxes (and any corresponding adjustments to tax indemnification asset), interest expense, depreciation and amortization, LIFO adjustments, charges or credits for facility closing and impairment, inventory write-downs related to store closings, debt retirements and other items (including stock-based compensation expense, sale of assets and investments and revenue deferrals related to our customer loyalty program).

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