Rite Aid Reports Net Income and Record Adjusted EBITDA for Fourth Quarter and Full 2013 Fiscal Year

Rite Aid Reports Net Income and Record Adjusted EBITDA for Fourth Quarter and Full 2013 Fiscal Year

• Fourth Quarter Net Income of $0.13 per Diluted Share Compared to Prior Fourth Quarter Net Loss of $0.18 per Diluted Share

• Full Year Net Income of $0.12 per Diluted Share Compared to Prior Year Net Loss of $0.43 per Diluted Share

• Fourth Quarter Adjusted EBITDA of $340.3 Million Compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $274.3 Million in Prior Fourth Quarter

• Full Year Adjusted EBITDA of $1,128.4 Million Compared to Adjusted EBITDA of $942.9 Million in Prior Year

• Prior-Year Included Benefit of 53^rdWeek

• Provides Outlook for Fiscal 2014

CAMP HILL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rite Aid Corporation (NYS: RAD) today reported net income for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 2, 2013.

For the fourth quarter, the company reported revenues of $6.5 billion, net income of $123.1 million or $0.13 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $340.3 million or 5.3 percent of revenues.

For the full year, Rite Aid reported revenues of $25.4 billion, net income of $118.1 million or $0.12 per diluted share and Adjusted EBITDA of $1,128.4 million or 4.4 percent of revenues.

"Thanks to the hard work of our entire Rite Aid team, we generated outstanding results in the fourth quarter, which helped us to deliver one of the best full-year performances in company history," said Rite Aid Chairman, President and CEO John Standley. "In addition to setting a new company record for full-year Adjusted EBITDA, we generated full-year net income for the first time since fiscal 2007."

"For Rite Aid, being able to report these results is a great moment that has been many years in the making. I'm very proud of our nearly 90,000 associates, who have worked together to execute key initiatives, grow sales, manage expenses and serve our customers like never before. Together, we are successfully transforming Rite Aid into a true neighborhood destination for health and wellness. As a result, our company is stronger and better equipped to meet the individual wellness needs of our valued customers and patients," Standley added.

Fourth Quarter Summary

Revenues for the thirteen week fourth quarter were $6.5 billion compared to revenues of $7.1 billion in the prior year fourteen-week fourth quarter. Revenues decreased 9.7 percent primarily as a result of one less week this year and the impact of lower cost generics on pharmacy sales.

Same store sales for the quarter decreased 2.0 percent over the prior-year period, consisting of a 0.3 percent increase in the front end offset by a 3.1 percent decrease in the pharmacy. Pharmacy sales benefited from a 3.0 percent increase in the number of prescriptions filled in same stores, which was more than offset by an approximate 659 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. Although new generic introductions have a negative impact on sales, they have a positive impact on gross profit. Prescription sales accounted for 66.5 percent of total drugstore sales and third party prescription sales were 96.6 percent of pharmacy sales.

Fourth quarter net income was $123.1 million or $0.13 per diluted share compared to last year's fourth quarter net loss of $161.3 million or $0.18 per diluted share. An increase in Adjusted EBITDA and a LIFO credit resulting from significant generic drug deflation were the key contributors to the current quarter net income. Partially offsetting those improvements was a loss on debt retirement as a result of the refinancing completed during the quarter.

Adjusted EBITDA (which is reconciled to net income on the attached table) was $340.3 million or 5.3 percent of revenues compared to $274.3 million or 3.8 percent of revenues for the fourth quarter last year. Adjusted EBITDA improved due to an improvement in pharmacy gross margin resulting from new generic introductions and an increase in prescriptions filled at comparable stores, partially offset by the impact of one less week in the current quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the company relocated four stores, remodeled 112 stores and closed 10 stores. Stores in operation at the end of the fourth quarter totaled 4,623. The Company had 797 wellness stores at year end.

Full Year Results

For the 52-week fiscal year ended March 2, 2013, Rite Aid had revenues of $25.4 billion compared to $26.1 billion for the 53-week prior year. Revenues decreased by 2.8 percent, primarily driven by one less week in fiscal 2013 and the impact of lower cost generics on pharmacy sales.

Same store sales for the year decreased 0.3 percent over the prior year period consisting of a front end same store sales increase of 1.4 percent offset by a 1.0 percent decrease in pharmacy same store sales. Pharmacy sales benefited from a 3.4 percent increase in the number of prescriptions filled in same stores, which was more than offset by an approximate 665 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions. Prescription sales accounted for 67.6 percent of total drugstore sales, and third party prescription sales were 96.6 percent of pharmacy sales.

Net income for fiscal 2013 was $118.1 million or $0.12 per diluted share compared to last year's net loss of $368.6 million or $0.43 per diluted share. Contributing to the increase in net income was an increase in Adjusted EBITDA and a LIFO credit resulting from significant generic drug deflation, partially offset by a higher loss on debt retirement compared to last year.

As computed on the attached table, Adjusted EBITDA was $1,128.4 million or 4.4 percent of revenues for the year compared to $942.9 million or 3.6 percent of revenues for last year. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by gross profit from increases in generic drugs dispensed and prescriptions filled at comparable stores, partially offset by the impact of one less week in the current fiscal year.

For the year, the company relocated 13 stores, remodeled 516 stores and closed 44 stores.

Outlook for Fiscal 2014

The company's outlook for fiscal 2014 is based on the anticipated benefit of its wellness remodels, customer loyalty program and other initiatives to grow sales and drive operational efficiencies. The company's outlook also considers the cycling of the prescriptions from the Walgreens/Express Scripts dispute, planned wage and benefit increases, the softening impact of new generic introductions and a challenging reimbursement rate environment.

Rite Aid said it expects sales to be between $24.9 billion and $25.3 billion in fiscal 2014 with same store sales expected to range from a decrease of 0.75 percent to an increase of 0.75 percent over fiscal 2013.

Adjusted EBITDA (which is reconciled to net income on the attached table) is expected to be between $1.075 billion and $1.175 billion.

Net income for fiscal 2014 is expected to be between $45 million and $200 million or income per diluted share of $0.04 to $0.20.

Capital expenditures are expected to be approximately $400 million.

Conference Call Broadcast

Rite Aid will hold an analyst call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today with remarks by Rite Aid's management team. The call will be simulcast via the internet and can be accessed through the websites www.riteaid.com in the conference call section of investor information and www.StreetEvents.com. Slides related to materials discussed on the call will be available on both sites. A playback of the call will be available on both sites starting at 12 p.m. Eastern Time today. A playback of the call will also be available by telephone beginning at 12 p.m. Eastern Time today until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 13, 2013. The playback number is 1-855-859-2056 from within the U.S. and Canada or 1-404-537-3406 from outside the U.S. and Canada with the eight-digit reservation number 24861186.

Rite Aid is one of the nation's leading drugstore chains with 4,623 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.

Statements, including guidance, in this release that are not historical 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 efforts of private and public third-party payers to reduce prescription drug reimbursements and encourage mail order, our ability to manage expenses and our investments in working capital, outcomes of legal and regulatory matters and changes in legislation or regulations, including healthcare reform. These and other risks, assumptions and uncertainties are described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K 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. 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.

See the attached table for a reconciliation of a non-GAAP financial measure, Adjusted EBITDA to net income (loss), the most comparable GAAP financial measure. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) excluding the impact of income taxes (and any corresponding reduction of 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, stock-based compensation expense, debt retirements, sale of assets and investments, revenue deferrals related to our customer loyalty program and other items.