IRVING, Texas — McKesson Corp. reported results on Wednesday for the fourth quarter and fiscal year that ended March 31, 2020.

Brian Tyler

“McKesson delivered a strong finish to fiscal 2020, reflecting continued momentum in the business and meaningful progress in our transformation towards becoming a more focused organization as we look to capture future growth opportunities,” said Brian Tyler, chief executive offer. “During fiscal 2020, we achieved adjusted operating profit growth in all three operating segments, generated $3.9 billion of free cash flow, and successfully completed the exit of our investment in Change Healthcare.”

“As we enter fiscal 2021, McKesson is leveraging our expertise, leadership and scale to play a critical role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Tyler continued. “We continue to remain focused on supporting our people, our customers and our communities during this challenging time. I want to thank caregivers worldwide for their heroic efforts and acknowledge the entire McKesson team, particularly our frontline workers, for their extraordinary dedication. Despite the uncertainties in the near-term macro environment, we remain confident in the resiliency of our business model and committed to creating long-term shareholder value.”

Fourth-quarter revenues were $58.5 billion, up 12%, and full-year revenues were $231.1 billion, up 8%, driven by growth in the U.S. Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions segment, largely due to branded pharmaceutical price increases and higher volumes from retail national account customers.

Fourth-quarter earnings per diluted share of $5.82 included an after-tax gain of $414 million, recognized upon the separation of the company’s investment in Change Healthcare LLC (“Change Healthcare”). Full-year earnings per diluted share of $4.99 also included after-tax impairment and dilution charges of $1 billion related to Change Healthcare and after-tax charges of $275 million within our European Pharmaceutical Solutions segment for the remeasurement to fair value of assets and liabilities held for sale related to the expected formation of a new German wholesale joint venture with Walgreens Boots Alliance.

Fourth-quarter Adjusted Earnings per diluted share was $4.27 compared to $3.69 a year ago, an increase of 16%, primarily driven by a lower share count and growth in the European Pharmaceutical Solutions segment. Full-year Adjusted Earnings per diluted share was $14.95 compared to $13.57 a year ago, an increase of 10%, primarily driven by a lower share count and growth in the U.S. Pharmaceutical and Specialty Solutions and Medical Surgical segments, partially offset by higher corporate expenses and the lapping of a prior year pre-tax benefit of $90 million related to a reversal of a contractual liability associated with McKesson’s investment in Change Healthcare.

For the full year, McKesson returned $2.2 billion of cash to shareholders via $1.9 billion of common stock repurchases and $294 million of dividend payments. During the fiscal year, McKesson generated cash from operations of $4.4 billion, and invested $506 million internally, resulting in free cash flow of $3.9 billion.