(Reuters) - Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit and said it would close about 200 stores in the United States under a cost-cutting program that would help it save $1.5 billion by the end of fiscal 2017.
The company said on Thursday that the restructuring, which will also include reorganizing field and corporate operations and streamlining IT and other functions, would result in pre-tax charges of about $1.6 billion-$1.8 billion over time.
The company, formed by Walgreens' takeover of Europe's Alliance Boots in December, reported net sales of $26.6 billion for the second quarter ended Feb. 28.
Analysts on average had expected sales of $27.77 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net income attributable to Walgreens Boots was $2.04 billion, or $1.93 per share. Walgreens alone earned $716 million, or 74 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
Excluding items the company earned $1.18 per share, beating analysts' average estimate of 95 cents.
(Reporting by Shailaja Sharma in Bengaluru and Nandita Bose in Chicago; Editing by Ted Kerr)
