Rite Aid May Same-Store Sales Up 3.5%; Revises FY15 Profit Target - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Retail drugstore chain operator Rite Aid Corp.'s (RAD) same-store sales for May 2014 increased 3.5 percent year-over-year, with front-end same-store sales rising 0.5 percent.

Five-week Pharmacy same-store sales, that included nearly 156 basis points negative impact from new generic launches, grew by 5.0 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 3.2 percent over the prior-year period.

Total drugstore sales for the month were up 2.5 percent to $2.48 billion, from $2.42 billion last year. Prescription sales accounted for 68.0 percent of drugstore sales, and third party prescription sales represented 97.4 percent of pharmacy sales.

Though results for the quarter ended May 31, 2014 would not be released until June 19, the firm sees adjusted EBITDA for the quarter to be between $275 million and $285 million, net income to be between $35 million and $45 million and income per share to be $0.04.

For fiscal 2015, the company is updating its guidance for adjusted EBITDA, net income and income per share. Annual adjusted EBITDA is likely to be between $1.275 billion and $1.350 billion, and net income of between $298 million and $408 million or $0.30 to $0.40 per share. On the other hand, the firm's outlook for sales, same-store sales increases and capital expenditures remain unchanged.