After missing analysts' second-quarter sales and earning expectations, Walgreens Boots Alliance vowed to cut more than $1.5 billion in costs by fiscal year 2022, according to CNBC.
The drugstore giant April 2 reported $1.6 billion in net income, down from $1.35 billion the same period one year earlier. Additionally, Walgreens posted a revenue of $34.53 billion in the second quarter when analysts expected $34.56 billion.
On a call with investors, Walgreens CEO Stefano Pessina called the second quarter of 2019, "the most difficult quarter we have had since the formation of Walgreens Boots Alliance," according to Bloomberg.
The company said it plans to cut more than $1.5 billion in expenses by fiscal year 2022, up from the $1 billion it announced in the first quarter of this fiscal year. Those cuts will come from streamlining operations and digitizing some business functions, according to the report.
"A number of the trends we had been expecting and preparing for impacted us significantly more quickly than we had anticipated," Mr. Pessina told analysts, according to CNBC.
In describing the tough quarter, Mr. Pessina said declining generic drug prices, smaller reimbursements from pharmacy benefit managers, a weak flu season and consumer market challenges weighed on the company.
Read the full report here.