Rite Aid reports steady results for November

CAMP HILL, Pa. Rite Aid on Thursday reported flat same-store sales results for the five weeks ending Nov. 29. Front-end same-store sales fell slightly 0.4 percent, in part because of a later Thanksgiving and one less week of traditional holiday shopping as compared to last year. Pharmacy same-store sales, which included an approximate 273 basis point negative impact from new generic introductions, were up slightly by 0.2 percent.

The core Rite Aid Stores fared a little better over the five-week period, with an overall increase of 1 percent in same-store sales results with the front-end dropping slightly by 0.8 percent and pharmacy same-store sales increasing 2.1 percent.

Same-store results for the Brooks/Eckerd acquired stores fell 2.1 percent over the fivee-week period, representing a decline of 0.8 percent across the front-end and a 3 percent decline across the pharmacy.

For the third quarter ending Nov. 29, sales declined 0.9 percent to $6.4 billion. Same-store sales for the quarter were up 1.4 percent, with 2.3 percent growth in the front-end and a 1 percent increase in pharmacy comparable sales results.

Prescription revenue represented 67.9 percent of total drugstore sales, and third party prescription revenue was 96.4 percent of pharmacy sales.