Walgreen Co. Is the Latest to End Monthly Sales Reports

By Josh Beckerman 

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. said it won't issue monthly sales reports for Walgreen Co., preferring to detail its performance in a "single unified report" when it reports quarterly results.

Walgreen Co. bought 45% of Alliance Boots GmbH from investors including KKR & Co. in 2012, and purchased the remaining stake in December.

The company said Wednesday that its fiscal 2016 guidance remains unchanged. When Walgreen announced the deal in August, it projected the combined company would earn $4.25 to $4.60 a share excluding items on revenue of $126 billion and $130 billion for fiscal 2016.

Many retailers, including the major department stores and most big-box retailers, stopped reporting monthly metrics some time ago, making it difficult to gain perspective about the entire industry.

When Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ended monthly reports in 2009, it said the move "aligns investors with the long-term view we take to build shareholder value" and would reduce "intra-period volatility related to events such as calendar shifts." Target Corp. said in 2012 that it was ending monthly reports in an effort to "create a long-term focus."

On Tuesday, Walgreen Co. said private-equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners will buy a majority stake in Walgreens Infusion Services, which will become an independent company.

Write to Josh Beckerman at [e-mail]

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