Walgreens November Sales Up 4.9% And Q1 Sales Up 6.8%

Walgreens Company WAG reported November and Q1 2015 sales on Wednesday.

Total sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2015, which ended Nov. 30, were $19.59 billion, above expectations of $19.34 billion and up 6.8 percent from $18.34 billion in last year’s quarter.

Comparable store sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2015 increased 5.8 percent, while front-end comparable store sales for the quarter increased 1.5 percent.

Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 4.2 percent in the first quarter and comparable pharmacy sales increased 8.3 percent.

November sales came in at $6.36 billion, an increase of 4.9 percent from $6.06 billion for the same month in fiscal 2014.
Sales in comparable stores increased by 4.5 percent in November. Calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 1.3 percentage points, while generic drug introductions in the last 12 months also negatively impacted total comparable sales by 1.3 percentage points.

Total front-end sales increased 1.3 percent compared with the same month in fiscal 2014, while comparable store front-end sales increased 0.8 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased 3.3 percent while basket size increased 4.1 percent.

Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased by 2.6 percent in November and increased 4.6 percent on a calendar day-shift adjusted basis.

November pharmacy sales increased by 7.6 percent, while comparable store pharmacy sales increased 6.7 percent and increased by a calendar day-shift adjusted 8.7 percent. Pharmacy sales accounted for 65.2 percent of total sales for the month.

Walgreens opened 24 stores during November, including 12 relocations, and closed one.

Walgreens Company traded at $66.85 in the pre-market, up 0.15 percent.