Walgreen April same-store sales up 5.7%

Deerfield, Ill. Walgreen Co. said Monday its same-store sales rose 5.7% in April, helped by a shift of the Easter holiday into April from last March.

Same-store pharmacy sales rose 4%, while front-end same-store sales rose 8.9%. Total monthly sales rose 11.1% to $5.4 billion.

Walgreens opened 51 drug stores in April, which included four relocations. As of April 30, the company ran 7,282 locations -- which includes 6,783 drug stores -- in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.