With the voting in Rite Aid’s (RAD) merger with Albertsons coming due, shareholders will want to re-examine the company’s sales pitch in getting the deal through. The unfortunate outcome for stockholders is that the company gains enough votes. If merged, Rite Aid shareholders stand to lose more.

Albertsons, a supermarket chain, reported first quarter results for fiscal 2018. The top line numbers look good, at least initially. Identical sales rose 0.2 percent, adjusted EBITDA rose 5.7 percent to $815.8 million, gross margin rose 60 basis points, e-Commerce sales rose an impressive 108 percent. Albertsons also reaffirmed its EBITDA forecast of $2.7 billion for the year. On closer inspection, the company closed 29 stores from last year to end the quarter with 2,300 locations. Long-term debt barely changed, falling just slightly from $11.7 billion last year to $11.67 billion in the first quarter.

The company still lost $17.7 million, although it is an improvement from last year’s $204.9 million loss. Depreciation and amortization fell around $40 million. On the ‘Accounts payable, accrued salaries and wages and other accrued liabilities’ line, the company counted $246.9 million, nearly double that of last year’s $131.9 million.

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