Rite Aid Shares Soar as Chain Announces Store Closure Plan 

Rite Aid Corporation shares were up almost 20% early on Tuesday (Dec. 21) after the company announced it has kicked off a plan to close at least 63 stores across the U.S., a move focused on reducing costs and increasing profitability as much as $25 million. 

The company’s review of its operations is ongoing and the number of store closures is expected to increase as the review continues for the next several months, Rite Aid officials said in their fiscal third-quarter earnings announcement. 

Rite Aid has also inked a rebate aggregation agreement with Prime Therapeutics that will add more value to customers in the Elixir Pharmacy Benefit Management program. 

As for the numbers, Rite Aid reported a net loss from continuing operations of $36.1 million in Q3 and adjusted net income from continuing operations of $8.2 million for the three-month period ending Nov. 27. The company also reported an adjusted EBITDA from continuing operations of $154.8 million, or 2.5% of revenues. 

“We delivered a solid quarter as we grew Adjusted EBITDA by 12.7% versus last year,” said Heyward Donigan, president and chief executive officer of Rite Aid, in the company announcement. 

“Despite challenges in the labor market, our pharmacists and store teams were able to meet the unprecedented volumes for COVID and flu immunizations, COVID testing and other clinical services, which clearly demonstrates our Lean work to free up capacity is paying off,” she said. “We are encouraged by our recent momentum and expect to deliver a significant increase in our fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA results compared to last year.” 

Related: Rite Aid On-Demand Delivery Goes National with Uber Eats 

In September, Rite Aid expanded its partnership with Uber Technologies, Inc. to offer delivery of healthcare items, groceries and Rite Aid products through the Uber Eats platform from 2,185 Rite Aid locations across the U.S. in 17 states.

Users can now access a full catalog of healthcare and grocery products from their local Rite Aid stores from the Uber Eats app. Uber Pass and Eats Pass customers get free delivery and 5% off all orders more than $15.