Walgreens Boots Alliance is targeting a technology acquisition after a successful year in primary care, specialty pharmacy, post-acute care and population health.
The Deerfield, Illinois-based pharmacy chain on Thursday said its fiscal year results exceeded expectations, and CEO Roz Brewer said the company’s next move could be into care technology. health care.
“We’re happy with the asset we have, but we’re still committed to our previous conversation that maybe our next asset will be something like a tech asset,” Brewer told analysts. accumulated in an earnings call.
What Walgreens chooses to invest in will depend on whether the potential acquirer has earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Brewer said.
Walgreens has ramped up purchases through its US healthcare arm this year and is optimistic about future performance. The company said it is raising the division’s fiscal 2025 revenue target to $11 billion to $12 billion, from $9 billion to $10 billion previously.
The expansion in the industry will help the company better coordinate patient care, said John Driscoll, president of US Healthcare, who took on the role. The division includes 26 million patients through 12,000 providers across every state, he said.
“We are creating a nationwide healthcare business that will leverage our entire portfolio to deliver better care at a lower cost,” said Driscoll. in the call. “And by focusing our portfolio on these higher growth markets, we will accelerate our return on investment and path to profitability in healthcare in USA.”
The company said VillageMD, which has contributed to the segment’s largest sales, is expected to continue to lead the division’s sales through fiscal 2025.
Walgreens invested $5.2 billion in VillageMD last year to take majority ownership. VillageMD, a primary care company, opened 82 clinics in the past year, bringing operations to more than 340 clinics in 22 markets. VillageMD recorded $1.5 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2022.
On Tuesday, Walgreens agreed to acquire the entire acute care post-acute care company CareCentrix, which is expected to bring in its second-biggest return to the healthcare unit in the coming years.
Walgreens paid $1.37 billion to acquire all of Shields Medical Solutions in September. The company reported that Shields, a specialty pharmacy, contributed $286 million in revenue during the fiscal year.
Walgreens reported $622 million in revenue for its healthcare business in the United States. The division is expected to reach profitability in fiscal 2024, executives said.
