CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid Corp. saw its same-store sales climb back on the upside in April.
The drug store chain said Wednesday that for the four weeks ended April 23, comparable-store sales inched up 0.5% versus a year earlier. In March, the retailer had seen same-store results dip 0.1% after gains of 1% in February, 1.1% in January and 0.6% in December.
For April, same-store sales tailed off 0.4% in the front end but rose 1% in the pharmacy. Rite Aid noted that the pharmacy comparable-store results reflect a 133-basis-point negative impact from new generic drug introductions. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 0.7% over the prior-year period.
Total drug store sales in April slipped 0.4% to $1.95 billion from $1.96 billion a year earlier, according to Rite Aid.
For the eight-week year-to-date period ended April 23, same-store sales grew 0.2%, including gains of 1.1% in the front end and a 0.9% in the pharmacy. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores rose 0.6% during that time frame.
Overall drug store sales for the year to date fell 0.7% to $3.90 billion from $3.93 billion in the year-ago period, Rite Aid said.
As of April 23, Rite Aid operated 4,705 drug stores, down from 4,773 stores a year ago.
