Walgreens Boots Alliance is eyeing an acquisition in expertise after a profitable 12 months in main care, specialty pharmacy, post-acute care and inhabitants well being.
The Deerfield, Illinois-based pharmacy chain on Thursday stated its fiscal 12 months outcomes exceeded expectations, and CEO Roz Brewer stated the corporate’s subsequent transfer may very well be into healthcare expertise.
“We’re happy with the property that we’ve got, however we stay dedicated to our prior dialog that in all probability our subsequent asset will look one thing like a tech asset,” Brewer instructed analysts throughout an earnings name.
What Walgreens chooses to put money into will depend upon whether or not the potential acquiree is reaching earnings earlier than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Brewer stated.
Walgreens has been on a shopping for spree via its U.S. healthcare arm this 12 months and is optimistic about future efficiency. The corporate stated it’s elevating its fiscal 2025 gross sales goal for the division to $11 billion to $12 billion, from $9 billion to $10 billion beforehand.
Its growth inside the trade will assist the corporate higher coordinate look after sufferers, stated John Driscoll, president of U.S. Healthcare, who assumed the position Tuesday. The division covers 26 million sufferers via 12,000 suppliers throughout each state, he stated.
“We’re making a nationally scaled healthcare enterprise, which is able to leverage our whole portfolio to ship higher care at decrease prices,” Driscoll stated on the decision. “And by focusing our portfolio on these higher-growth markets, we’ll speed up the return on our funding and our path to profitability in U.S. healthcare.”
The corporate stated VillageMD, already the section’s largest gross sales contributor, is predicted to proceed main the division’s gross sales via fiscal 12 months 2025.
Walgreens invested $5.2 billion in VillageMD final 12 months to take majority possession. VillageMD, a main care firm, has opened 82 clinics inside the previous 12 months, bringing the operation to greater than 340 clinics in 22 markets. VillageMD recorded $1.5 billion in income throughout fiscal 12 months 2022.
Walgreens on Tuesday agreed to totally purchase post-acute care firm CareCentrix, which is predicted to usher in the second-most sum of money for the healthcare unit in coming years.
Walgreens paid $1.37 billion to totally purchase Shields Well being Options in September. The corporate reported that Shields, a specialty pharmacy, contributed $286 million in gross sales through the fiscal 12 months.
Walgreens reported $622 million in gross sales for its U.S. healthcare section. The division expects to achieve profitability by fiscal 12 months 2024, executives stated.