Rite Aid's (RAD) Key Sales Metrics for November Rise 5.1% - Analyst Blog

Drugstore chain retailer, Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) came up with robust sales results for the month of November. The company's comparable-store sales (comps) for the five weeks ended Nov 29, 2014 rose 5.1%. The improvement reflected an increase in front-end and pharmacy comps as well as higher prescription count at comparable stores.

Pharmacy comps were up 7.1% that included a negative impact of nearly 232 basis points from generic drug introduction. Front-end comps improved 0.7%, while prescription count at comparable stores rose 4.2%.

Rite Aid's total drugstore sales stood at $2.571 billion, up 5.6% from the year-ago figure of $2.434 billion. Prescription sales constituted 69.7% of total drugstore sales, while third-party prescription sales accounted for 97.6% of pharmacy sales.

Further, the nation's third-largest drugstore chain in terms of store count, following Walgreen Co. (WAG) and CVS Health Corp. (CVS), reported a 5.4% rise in comps for the 13 weeks period, ended on Nov 29. Pharmacy and front-end comps for the period were up 7.2% and 1.6%, respectively, while prescription count at comparable stores rose 4.5%.

Total drugstore sales for the 13-week period improved 5.1% to $6.651 billion against $6.330 billion in the year-ago comparable period. Prescription sales constituted 69.8% of total drugstore sales. Third-party prescription sales accounted for 97.6% of pharmacy sales.

For the 39 weeks period ended Nov 29, Rite Aid had reported a 4.2% rise in total comps, comprising 0.9% and 5.8% increases at front-end and pharmacy comps, respectively. Prescription counts at comparable stores were 3.5% higher from the prior-year period.

Total drugstore sales for the period jumped 3.8% to $19.553 billion versus $18.844 billion in the prior-year period. Prescription sales accounted for 69% of total drugstore sales, whereas third-party prescription sales constituted 97.5% of pharmacy sales.

Rite Aid, which competes with Herbalife Ltd. (HLF) and operates 4,572 stores, is slated to report its third-quarter fiscal 2015 results on Dec 18. The stock carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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