Rite Aid September Same Store Sales Rise 1.9%

(RTTNews) - Retail drugstore chain operator Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) reported Thursday a 1.9 percent increase in September same store sales, reflecting an increase in prescription count and a growth in pharmacy same store sales.

Front-end same store sales for the month edged down 0.5 percent from the month of September, while total Pharmacy same store sales, including a 100 basis point negative impact of new generic introductions, grew 3.1 percent over the year-ago period.

The company noted that prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 0.9 percent over the prior-year period.

Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid reported total drugstore sales of $1.935 billion for September, up 1.9 percent from $1.899 billion in the comparable month a year ago. Prescription revenue accounted for 68.7 percent of drugstore sales, while third party prescription revenue represented 97.1 percent of pharmacy sales.

For the year-to-date seven-month period, the company's same store sales edged down 0.4 percent over the year-ago period. Front end same store sales remained flat with last year, and pharmacy same store sales edged down 0.6 percent over the same period last year.

Total drugstores sales for the period were $14.449 billion, down 0.7 percent from $14.545 billion in the comparable period a year ago. Prescription revenue accounted for 67.8 percent of total drugstore sales, while third-party prescription revenue was 97.0 percent of pharmacy sales during the period.

RAD closed Wednesday's regular trading session at $5.01, up $0.06 on a volume of 38.34 million shares.