The American owner of Boots is set to swing back into profit this week amid growing speculation that it is looking to split off the UK pharmacy chain.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, created by the merger of Boots and US group Walgreens in 2014, is predicted to report a profit of £264 million for the three months to the end of November, according to forecasts from data site Refinitiv.
It posted a £2.9 billion loss in the same period a year ago, blamed on settlement costs from legal cases linked to Walgreens’ alleged role in the US opioid epidemic.
Turnover, meanwhile, is expected to have risen slightly to £27.4 billion from £26.2 billion in 2022 when figures are reported on Thursday.
Expectations of the return to profit follow reports in recent weeks that Walgreens is considering splitting off Boots and listing it on the London Stock Exchange as an independent business.
Signing off?: Expectations of the return to profit follow reports that Walgreens is considering splitting off Boots and listing it on the Stock Exchange as an independent business
The US chain tried to sell the UK division last year, but called it off after failing to find a suitable buyer.
A split is thought to be back on the agenda after Boots last month sold its pension scheme for £4.8 billion, removing a key hurdle to a sale.
Investors have been pressuring the group to offload its UK arm and other European operations for several years, arguing that it is distracting management from the US business, where it is the country’s second-largest pharmacy chain.
A Boots flotation after 15 years as a private firm could provide a much-needed boost to the London Stock Exchange, after a year of high-profile defections raised fears the City is losing its allure.
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