DEERFIELD, Ill. — A strong pharmacy performance hoisted same-store sales at Walgreen Co. in September.
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Walgreens said Friday that sales in comparable stores surged 7.9% in September, marking the drug chain’s largest monthly increase in calendar 2014. Comp-store sales had gained 3.7% in August.
In September, calendar day shifts (one extra Tuesday and one fewer Sunday) lifted same-store sales by 1.8 percentage points, while introductions of new generic drugs, which have lower price points, negatively impacted total comparable sales by 1.3 percentage points.
Front-end same-stores sales edged up 1.7% for September. Customer traffic in comparable stores fell 2.7%, yet basket size grew 4.4%.
Comparable pharmacy sales jumped 11.3% in September and were up by a calendar day-shift adjusted 8.6%, according to Walgreens. The company said calendar day shifts raised pharmacy same-store sales by 2.7 percentage points. Meanwhile, new generics negative impacted calendar day-shift adjusted comparable pharmacy sales by 1.9 percentage points.
Prescription count at comparable stores rose 6.6% for the month and increased 3.9% on a calendar day-shift adjusted basis. Walgreens said calendar shifts positively impacted prescriptions filled at comparable stores by 2.7 percentage points.
Walgreens’ overall September sales climbed 9.4% to $6.48 billion from $5.92 billion a year earlier. Sales advanced 2.2% in the front end and 14.2% in the pharmacy. Pharmacy sales accounted for 67.8 percent of total sales for the month.
Year-to-date sales for calendar 2014 totaled $57.40 billion, up 6.1% from $54.10 billion in the first nine months of 2013. Walgreens reported that flu shots administered at pharmacies and clinics season-to-date topped 2.1 million, compared with about 1.9 million a year ago.
During September, Walgreens opened nine drug stores, including four relocations, and closed four stores. As of Sept. 30, the chain operated 8,207 drug stores, 84 more than a year ago, including 70 net stores acquired over the last 12 months.
