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Walgreens June Same-Store Sales Jump By 3.4%

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:05:4

Deerfield, IL (AHN) - Walgreens Co. (NYSE:WAG)(NASDAQ:WAG) will lead retailers higher on Thursday after the company said the same-store sales increased in the month of June as more number of consumers visited its stores across the country.

The sales at the stores opened a year ago increased by 3.4 percent. Comparable non-pharmacy sales dropped by 0.9 percent, versus last year's June increase of 3.4 percent.

The second-largest U.S. drugstore chain said in a statement today that comparable non-pharmacy sales, or front-end sales, were hurt by softer sales of seasonal items compared to last year.

Same-store sales pharmacy sales surged by 5.8 percent, pushing overall pharmacy sales up by 11.0 percent, the Deerfield, Illinois-based company reported.

The firm said comparable pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 4.4 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months, the company said.

Prescriptions filled at same-store sales rose by 7.5 percent in June, including 1.5 percentage points due to more patients filling 90-day prescriptions. Pharmacy sales accounted for 66.7 percent of total sales for the month.

Walgreens said calendar day shifts had a positive impact on the month, as pharmacy patients fill more prescriptions during the week than on weekends.

This year, June had one more weekday compared to last year and it positively impacted total comparable store sales by 1.5 percentage points

Total sales for June jumped by as much as 9 percent to $5.24 billion. Walgreens opened 46 stores during June, including five relocations, and acquired four stores.

The company has suffered a hit in its earnings as the unemployment rate increased in the first half of 2009, forcing the consumers to conserve funds for purchasing essential products.

Fiscal 2009 year-to-date sales for the 10 months were $52.9 billion, up 7.4 percent from $49.2 billion, while comparable store sales for the fiscal year to date increased by 2.1 percent.

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