Drugstore chain retailer, Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) came up with robust sales results for the month of November. The company’s comparable-store sales (comps) for the five weeks ended Nov 29, 2014 rose 5.1%. The improvement reflected an increase in front-end and pharmacy comps as well as higher prescription count at comparable stores.
Pharmacy comps were up 7.1% that included a negative impact of nearly 232 basis points from generic drug introduction. Front-end comps improved 0.7%, while prescription count at comparable stores rose 4.2%.
Rite Aid’s total drugstore sales stood at $2.571 billion, up 5.6% from the year-ago figure of $2.434 billion. Prescription sales constituted 69.7% of total drugstore sales, while third-party prescription sales accounted for 97.6% of pharmacy sales.
Further, the nation’s third-largest drugstore chain in terms of store count, following Walgreen Co. (WAG) and CVS Health Corp. (CVS), reported a 5.4% rise in comps for the 13 weeks period, ended on Nov 29. Pharmacy and front-end comps for the period were up 7.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while prescription count at comparable stores rose 4.5%.
Total drugstore sales for the 13-week period improved 5.1% to $6.651 billion against $6.330 billion in the year-ago comparable period. Prescription sales constituted 69.8% of total drugstore sales. Third-party prescription sales accounted for 97.6% of pharmacy sales.
For the 39 weeks period ended Nov 29, Rite Aid had reported a 4.2% rise in total comps, comprising 0.9% and 5.8% increases at front-end and pharmacy comps, respectively. Prescription counts at comparable stores were 3.5% higher from the prior-year period.
Total drugstore sales for the period jumped 3.8% to $19.553 billion versus $18.844 billion in the prior-year period. Prescription sales accounted for 69% of total drugstore sales, whereas third-party prescription sales constituted 97.5% of pharmacy sales.
Rite Aid, which competes with Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) and operates 4,572 stores, is slated to report its third-quarter fiscal 2015 results on Dec 18. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment