Rite Aid December same-store sales up 5.3%

Camp Hill, Pa. -- Rite Aid said that its same store sales for the week ended December 27, 2014, increased 5.3% over the prior-year period.



The drugstore chain’s pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 123 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, increased 7.3%. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 5.1% over the prior-year period. Front-end sales were up 1.7%



Total drugstore sales for the four-week period increased 4.9% to $2.212 billion, compared to $2.109 billion for the year-ago period. Prescription sales accounted for 64.8% of drugstore sales, and third-party prescription sales represented 97.6% of pharmacy sales.



Rite Aid said its total sales for the 43 weeks ended Dec. 27, 2014 increased 3.9% with sales of $21.762 billion, compared to $20.953 billion for the same period last year. Year-to-date total same-store sales were up 4.3%.



On Dec. 27, 2014, Rite Aid operated 4,570 stores, compared to 4,592 stores in the year-ago period.