CAMP HILL, Pa. — Solid results in the front end and the pharmacy lifted comparable-store sales at Rite Aid Corp. in March.
Rite Aid said Thursday that same-store sales climbed 3.6% for the four weeks ended March 31.
That bested the drug chain’s 3.1% comp-store sale gain in February and matched the 3.6% same-store increase in December, the company’s largest during 2011.
March same-store sales rose 4.6% in the front end and 3.2% in the pharmacy, with the latter reflecting a negative impact of 240 basis points from generic drug introductions, according to Rite Aid.
Prescription count at comparable stores gained 2.6% versus the prior-year period.
Total drug store sales in March came in at nearly $1.99 billion, up 3.1% from $1.93 billion a year earlier.
Prescription sales represented 69.2% of drug store sales during the month, Rite Aid said. That marked an increase from 68.3% in February.
As of March 31, Rite Aid operated 4,659 stores, compared with 4,711 stores a year ago.
