Rite Aid September Same Store Sales Rise 5.1%

(RTTNews) - Retail drugstore chain operator Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) on Thursday reported a 5.1 percent increase in same store sales for the month of September, reflecting an improvement in pharmacy same store sales and front-end same store sales.

Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based Rite Aid reported total drugstore sales of $2.02 billion for September, up 4.5 percent from $1.94 billion in the comparable month a year ago.

Same store sales for the four weeks ended September 27 increased 5.1 percent, reflecting a 6.3 percent increase in pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 225 basis points negative impact of new generic introductions.

Front-end same store sales for the month grew 2.3 percent, and prescription count at comparable stores increased 4.4 percent.

The company noted that prescription revenue accounted for 69.5 percent of drugstore sales, while third party prescription revenue represented 97.6 percent of pharmacy sales.

For the 30-week period ended September 27, 2014, same store sales increased 3.8 percent. Front-end same store sales edged up 0.8 percent, while pharmacy same store sales grew 5.2 percent.

Total drugstores sales for the year-to-date period grew 3.3 percent to $14.92 billion from $14.45 billion in the prior-year period.

RAD closed Wednesday's trading at $4.81. In Thursday's pre-market activity, the stock is up $0.16 or 3.33 percent to $4.97.