Walgreens Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend
DEERFIELD, Ill., Oct. 12, 2005 The board of directors of Walgreen Co. (NYSE, NASDAQ: WAG) today declared a regular quarterly dividend of 6.5 cents per share, payable Dec. 12, 2005, to shareowners of record Nov. 14, 2005.
The company has paid a dividend in 292 consecutive quarters (or 73 years) and has raised its dividend for 30 consecutive years.
Walgreens, the nation's largest drugstore chain, earlier reported sales for the 2005 fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2005, of $42.2 billion, up 12.5 percent from a year earlier. Net earnings for the year were up 15.5 percent from a year ago to a record $1.559 billion.
Walgreens operates 4,962 drugstores in 45 states and Puerto Rico and plans to open about 475 new stores in fiscal 2006, with a net increase of 390 stores after closings and relocations. Walgreens also provides additional services to pharmacy patients and prescription drug and medical plans through Walgreens Health Services, its managed care subsidiary, which includes Walgreens Health Initiatives (a pharmacy benefits manager), Walgreens Mail Service, Walgreens Specialty Pharmacy and Walgreens Home Care.
