Rite Aid
Rite Aid
Fortune 500 rank: 113
2011 loss: $555 million
There was bad news and good news for Rite Aid last year. The bad news was that it lost more than half a billion dollars, making this year its fifth appearance on Fortune's money losers list. The good news is that it seems to be losing less.

Analysts were encouraged by Rite Aid's same-store sales growth of 2% in the fiscal year ending March 2012, plus a double-digit sales growth in the fourth quarter. They were also cheered by strong performance of the chain's immunization and loyalty programs.

However, that doesn't mean the nation's third largest drugstore chain will be in the black any time soon. Debt from pre-crisis acquisitions and costs of restructuring continue to eat into profits. The company recently posted its 19th consecutive quarterly loss and it expects to post more losses in the fiscal year ending 2013. In a recent earnings call, Rite Aid predicted profit shortfall of between $103 million and $267 million. That's not quite so bad compared with its multi-billion dollar losses two and three years ago.


By Anne VanderMey, reporter @FortuneMagazine - Last updated May 08 2012: 1:42 PM ET
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