McKesson Reports Fiscal 2021 Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Results

Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year Highlights:

• Fourth-quarter total revenues of $59.1 billion increased 1%
• Full-year total revenues of $238.2 billion increased 3%
• Fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of $4.15 decreased $1.67
• Full-year loss per diluted share from continuing operations of ($28.26) decreased $33.25
• Fourth-quarter Adjusted Earnings per diluted share of $5.05 increased 18%
• Full-year Adjusted Earnings per diluted share of $17.21 increased 15%
• Full-year Free Cash Flow of $3.9 billion

Fiscal 2022 Outlook:

• Adjusted Earnings per diluted share guidance range of $18.85 to $19.45, representing 9.5% to 13% growth
• Guidance assumes $0.50 to $0.70 of Adjusted Earnings per diluted share related to the U.S. government’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution and kitting programs

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) today reported results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended March 31, 2021.

Fiscal 2021 Fourth-Quarter and Year-to-Date Result Summary

“Our notable performance in fiscal 2021 reflects the continued momentum in our businesses and is a testament to the leadership role McKesson plays in the healthcare supply chain. McKesson’s differentiated capabilities make us the partner of choice for our customers and government entities in their COVID-19 response efforts. I am proud of our employees and what we have accomplished together,” said Brian Tyler, chief executive officer. “Despite the dynamic macro environment, the business demonstrated strong execution as we grew Adjusted Earnings per diluted share by 15%. These results allowed us to generate $3.9 billion of Free Cash Flow.”

“As we enter fiscal 2022, our top priorities remain the safety of our employees, the success of our customers, and fulfilling our leadership responsibility as the centralized distributor of COVID-19 vaccines and ancillary supplies in the U.S.,” Mr. Tyler continued. “We have positioned the business for long-term growth through strategic investments in the areas of oncology and biopharma services and successful transformation of our operating model. Our accomplishments in fiscal 2021 are the foundation for the future and we remain confident in our ability to create long-term value for our shareholders.”

Fourth-quarter revenues were $59.1 billion, up 1% from a year ago, driven by market growth and higher volumes from retail national account customers in the U.S. Pharmaceutical segment, partially offset by the prior year acceleration in demand driven by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Full-year revenues were $238.2 billion, up 3% from a year ago, driven by growth in the U.S. Pharmaceutical segment, largely due to market growth and higher specialty volumes, partially offset by branded to generic conversions.

Fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share from continuing operations was $4.15 compared to $5.82 a year ago, a decrease of 29%. Full-year loss per diluted share from continuing operations of ($28.26) included a pre-tax $8.1 billion expense accrual related to the estimated liability for opioid-related claims. This charge was taken in the company’s third-quarter and is not included in full-year Adjusted Earnings per diluted share.

Fourth-quarter Adjusted Earnings per diluted share was $5.05 compared to $4.27 a year ago, an increase of 18%, primarily driven by the contribution from COVID-19 vaccine distribution and kitting programs with the U.S. government and a lower share count, partially offset by a higher tax rate and the prior year contribution from the company's now separated investment in Change Healthcare LLC ("Change Healthcare"). Fourth-quarter Adjusted Earnings per diluted share included pre-tax net gains of approximately $44 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, associated with McKesson Ventures’ equity investments.

Full-year Adjusted Earnings per diluted share was $17.21 compared to $14.95 a year ago, an increase of 15%, primarily driven by a lower share count and the contribution from COVID-19 vaccine distribution and kitting programs with the U.S. government, partially offset by the prior year contribution from the company's now separated investment in Change Healthcare. Full-year Adjusted Earnings per diluted share included pre-tax net gains of approximately $133 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, associated with McKesson Ventures' equity investments.

For the full year, McKesson returned $1.0 billion of cash to shareholders, which included $770 million of common stock repurchases and $276 million of dividend payments. During the fiscal year, McKesson generated cash from operations of $4.5 billion, and invested $641 million in capital expenditures, resulting in Free Cash Flow of $3.9 billion.

Business Highlights

• U.S. Pharmaceutical’s operational excellence and scaled distribution network was highlighted by the successful distribution of over 150 million COVID-19 vaccines through April 30, 2021.
• McKesson continued to invest in Ontada, the company’s differentiated oncology technology and insights business and also joined MYLUNG, a collaborative real-world research consortium designed to advance precision medicine for non-small cell lung cancer patients.
• Prescription Technology Solutions finished fiscal 2021 with positive momentum and Access for More Patients (AMP) contributed to profit growth in the fourth quarter.
• Medical-Surgical Solutions played a central role in the COVID-19 response efforts, assembling and distributing the ancillary supply kits needed for COVID-19 vaccinations and distributing COVID-19 tests to healthcare provider customers.

Segment Financials

U.S. Pharmaceutical Segment

Fourth-Quarter:

• Revenues were $47.0 billion, an increase of 3%, driven by market growth and higher volumes from retail national account customers, partially offset by the prior year acceleration in demand driven by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and branded to generic conversions.
• Segment Operating Profit was $892 million. Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $813 million, an increase of 7% from a year ago, driven by the contribution from COVID-19 vaccine distribution, offset by the prior year acceleration in demand driven by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and higher operating costs to support oncology growth initiatives.

Full-Year:

• Revenues were $189.3 billion, an increase of 4%, driven by market growth and higher specialty volumes, partially offset by branded to generic conversions.
• Segment Operating Profit was $2.8 billion. Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $2.7 billion, an increase of 3% from a year ago, driven by growth in distribution of specialty products to providers and the contribution from COVID-19 vaccine distribution, offset by the prior year acceleration in demand driven by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and higher operating costs to support oncology growth initiatives.

Prescription Technology Solutions Segment

Fourth-Quarter:

• Revenues were $789 million, an increase of 7%, driven by higher volumes of technology and service offerings to support biopharma customers.
• Segment Operating Profit was $125 million. Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $146 million, an increase of 11%, driven by organic growth from access and adherence solutions including the contribution from AMP. 

Full-Year:

• Revenues were $2.9 billion, an increase of 7%, driven by higher volumes of technology and service offerings to support biopharma customers.
• Segment Operating Profit was $395 million. Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $467 million, flat to prior year. Organic growth from access and adherence solutions was offset by higher operating costs to support biopharma services growth initiatives.

Medical-Surgical Solutions Segment

Fourth-Quarter:

• Revenues were $2.7 billion, an increase of 23%, driven by demand for COVID-19 tests.
• Segment Operating Profit was $171 million. Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $192 million, an increase of 13%, driven by demand for COVID-19 tests and the contribution from kitting and distribution of ancillary supplies for the U.S. government’s COVID-19 vaccine program, partially offset by inventory charges on certain personal protective equipment (PPE) incurred to support customers through the extraordinary demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Full-Year:

• Revenues were $10.1 billion, an increase of 22%, driven by demand for COVID-19 tests and personal protective equipment in the Primary Care and Extended Care businesses.
• Segment Operating Profit was $707 million. Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $805 million, an increase of 19%, driven by demand for COVID-19 tests and the contribution from kitting and distribution of ancillary supplies for the U.S. government’s COVID-19 vaccine program, partially offset by inventory charges on certain PPE and related products.

International Segment

Fourth-Quarter:

• Revenues were $8.6 billion. On an FX-adjusted basis, revenues were $7.9 billion, a decline of 18%, driven by the contribution of McKesson's German wholesale business to a joint venture with Walgreens Boots Alliance.
• Segment Operating Profit was $76 million. On an FX-adjusted basis, Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $126 million, a decline of 8%.

Full-Year:

• Revenues were $36.0 billion. On an FX-adjusted basis, revenues were $34.9 billion, a decline of 9%, driven by the contribution of McKesson's German wholesale business to a joint venture with Walgreens Boots Alliance.
• Segment Operating Loss was ($37) million, primarily driven by a GAAP-only pre-tax long-lived asset impairment charge of $115 million. On an FX-adjusted basis, Adjusted Segment Operating Profit was $466 million, an increase of 1%.

Company Updates

• McKesson’s commitment to transform its operating model resulted in annual pre-tax cost savings in excess of $400 million, achieving the company’s three-year target of $400 million to $500 million by the end of Fiscal 2021.
• Susan Shiff joined McKesson as president of Ontada, the company's oncology technology and insights business within the U.S. Pharmaceutical segment.
• As part of the company’s strategy and actions towards better health for people and the planet, McKesson committed to set science-based targets to reduce the company’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Fiscal 2022 Outlook

McKesson expects full-year fiscal 2022 Adjusted Earnings per diluted share of $18.85 to $19.45, which reflects Adjusted Operating Profit growth in all segments coupled with disciplined, efficient capital deployment, including approximately $2 billion of share repurchases. Fiscal 2022 Adjusted Earnings per diluted share guidance assumes $0.40 to $0.50 related to U.S. government COVID-19 vaccine distribution and $0.10 to $0.20 related to the kitting and distribution of ancillary supplies.

The fiscal 2022 outlook is based on the following key assumptions and expectations and is subject to risks and uncertainties such as those described in the Cautionary Statements below:

Additional modeling considerations will be provided in the earnings call presentation.

Other remaining businesses

Other reflects equity earnings and charges for retrospective periods for the company's previous investment in Change Healthcare, which was separated from the company during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020.

Conference Call Details

The company has scheduled a conference call for today, Thursday, May 6^th at 4:30 PM ET to discuss the company’s financial results. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on McKesson’s Investor Relations website at http://investor.mckesson.com. An archive of the conference call will also be available on the company’s Investor Relations website at http://investor.mckesson.com.

Upcoming Investor Events

McKesson management will be participating in the following investor conferences:

• BofA Securities Virtual 2021 Healthcare Conference, May 13, 2021
• Goldman Sachs 42^nd Annual Global Healthcare Conference, June 8, 2021

Audio webcasts will be available live and archived on the company’s Investor Relations website at http://investor.mckesson.com. A complete listing of upcoming events for the investment community, including details and updates, will be available on the company’s Investor Relations website.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

GAAP refers to the U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. This press release includes GAAP financial measures as well as Non-GAAP financial measures, including Adjusted Gross Profit, Adjusted Operating Expenses, Adjusted Other Income, Adjusted Equity Income from Change Healthcare, Adjusted Income Tax Expense, Adjusted Earnings, Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share, Adjusted Segment Operating Profit, Adjusted Segment Operating Profit Margin, Adjusted Corporate Expenses, Adjusted Operating Profit, FX-Adjusted results and Free Cash Flow which are financial measures not calculated in accordance with GAAP. Refer to the “Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Information” section of the accompanying financial statement tables for the definitions and usefulness of the Company’s Non-GAAP financial measures and the attached schedules for reconciliations of the differences between the Non-GAAP financial measures and their most directly comparable GAAP financial measures.

The Company does not provide forward-looking guidance on a GAAP basis as McKesson is unable to provide a quantitative reconciliation of this forward-looking Non-GAAP measure to the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP measure, without unreasonable effort, because McKesson cannot reliably forecast LIFO inventory-related adjustments, gains from antitrust legal settlements, restructuring, impairment and related charges, and other adjustments, which are difficult to predict and estimate. These items are inherently uncertain and depend on various factors, many of which are beyond the company’s control, and as such, any associated estimate and its impact on GAAP performance could vary materially.

Cautionary Statements

Except for historical information contained in this press release, matters discussed may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in those statements. It is not possible to identify all such risks and uncertainties. The reader should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, such as financial performance forecasts, which speak only as of the date they are first made. Except to the extent required by law, the company undertakes no obligation to publicly update forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by their use of terminology such as “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “seeks”, “approximately”, “intends”, “plans”, “estimates” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. The discussion of financial trends, strategy, plans, assumptions or intentions may also include forward-looking statements. We encourage investors to read the important risk factors described in the company’s Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and Form 8-K reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

These risk factors include, but are not limited to: we experience costly and disruptive legal disputes and settlements, including regarding our role in distributing controlled substances such as opioids; we might experience losses not covered by insurance; we might be adversely impacted by changes in tax legislation or challenges to our tax positions; we from time to time record significant charges from impairment to goodwill, intangibles and other assets or investments; we experience cybersecurity incidents and might experience significant computer system compromises or data breaches; we might experience significant problems with information systems or networks; we may be unsuccessful in retail pharmacy profitability; we might be harmed by large customer purchase reductions, payment defaults or contract non-renewal; our contracts with government entities involve future funding and compliance risks; we might be harmed by changes in our relationships or contracts with suppliers; we might be adversely impacted by healthcare reform such as changes in pricing and reimbursement models; we might be adversely impacted by changes or disruptions in product supply and we have experienced and may experience difficulties in sourcing products and changes in pricing due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains; we might be adversely impacted as a result of our distribution of generic pharmaceuticals; we might be adversely impacted by an economic slowdown (including the effects we have experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic) or recession and by disruption in capital and credit markets that might impede our access credit, increase our borrowing costs and impair the financial soundness of our customers and suppliers; we might be adversely impacted by fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; we might be adversely impacted by events outside of our control, such as widespread public health issues (including the effects we have experienced from the COVID-19 pandemic), natural disasters, political events and other catastrophic events; we may be adversely affected by global climate change or by legal, regulatory or market responses to such change; and we face uncertainties and risks related to vaccination distribution and related ancillary supply kit programs.

About McKesson Corporation

McKesson Corporation is a global leader in healthcare supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information solutions. McKesson partners with pharmaceutical manufacturers, providers, pharmacies, governments and other organizations in healthcare to help provide the right medicines, medical products and healthcare services to the right patients at the right time, safely and cost-effectively. United by our ICARE shared principles, our employees work every day to innovate and deliver opportunities that make our customers and partners more successful - all for the better health of patients. McKesson has been named a “Most Admired Company” in the healthcare wholesaler category by FORTUNE, a “Best Place to Work” by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, and a top military-friendly company by Military Friendly. For more information, visit https://www.mckesson.com/.

NM Computation not meaningful

Refer to our applicable filings with the SEC for additional disclosures including our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for fiscal 2021 and 2020 as well as our Annual Reports on Form 10-K for fiscal 2021 and 2020.

NM Computation not meaningful

Refer to the section entitled "Financial Statement Notes" of this release.

For more information relating to the Adjusted Earnings (Non-GAAP), Adjusted Earnings per Diluted Share (Non-GAAP), and FX-Adjusted (Non-GAAP) definitions, refer to the section entitled “Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Information” of this release.

NM Computation not meaningful

Refer to the section entitled "Financial Statement Notes" of this release.

For more information relating to the Adjusted Gross Profit (Non-GAAP), Adjusted Operating Expenses (Non-GAAP), Adjusted Other Income (Non-GAAP), Adjusted Equity Income from Change Healthcare (Non-GAAP), and Adjusted Income Tax Expense (Non-GAAP) definitions, refer to the section entitled “Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Information” of this release.

Refer to the section entitled "Financial Statement Notes" of this release.

For more information relating to the Adjusted Segment Operating Profit (Non-GAAP), Adjusted Operating Profit (Non-GAAP), Adjusted Corporate Expenses (Non-GAAP), FX-Adjusted (Non-GAAP), and Adjusted Segment Operating Profit Margin (Non-GAAP) definitions, refer to the section entitled “Supplemental Non-GAAP Financial Information” of this release.