Rite Aid Reports 3.6 Percent Same Store Sales Increase for December

Published on Thursday, 05 January 2012 08:43 Written by TradersHuddle Staff

CAMP HILL, Pa.-( Business Wire )-

Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE: RAD) today announced sales results for December.

Monthly Sales

For the five weeks ended December 31, 2011, same store sales increased 3.6 percent over the prior-year period. December front-end same store sales increased 0.7 percent. Pharmacy same store sales, which included an approximate 177 basis points negative impact from new generic introductions, increased 5.2 percent. Prescription count at comparable stores increased 3.2 percent over the prior-year period.

December sales were positively impacted by the New Year’s holiday calendar shift. Including sales for the holiday period through January 2, December total same store sales would have increased 2.1 percent. Front-end same store sales would have been flat, pharmacy same store sales would have increased 3.3 percent and prescription count at comparable stores would have increased 1.1 percent.

Total drugstore sales for the five-week period increased 3.3 percent to $2.644 billion compared to $2.560 billion for the same period last year. Prescription sales accounted for 64.5 percent of drugstore sales, and third party prescription sales represented 96.6 percent of pharmacy sales.

Year-to-Date Sales

Same store sales for the 44-week period ended December 31, 2011 increased 1.8 percent, consisting of a 0.8 percent front-end same store sales increase and a 2.3 percent increase in pharmacy same store sales. Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 0.7 percent over the prior-year period.

Total drugstore sales for the 44 weeks ended December 31, 2011 increased 1.4 percent to $21.545 billion from $21.246 billion in last year’s like period. Prescription sales accounted for 67.9 percent of total drugstore sales, and third-party prescription sales was 96.5 percent of pharmacy sales.

Rite Aid is one of the nation’s largest drugstore chains. On December 31, 2011, the company operated 4,676 stores compared to 4,726 stores in the like period a year ago. Information about Rite Aid, including corporate background and press releases, is available through the company’s website at http://www.riteaid.com. Note that all sales data in this release is preliminary, unaudited and subject to revision.

Statements in this release that are not historical are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, assumptions and uncertainties that are described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other documents that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which you are encouraged to read. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or anticipated by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Rite Aid expressly disclaims any current intention to update publicly any forward-looking statement after the distribution of this release, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.

Rite Aid CorporationINVESTORS:Matt Schroeder, 717-214-8867or investor@riteaid.comorMEDIA:Susan Henderson, 717-730-7766