Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (NASDAQ: WAG) had August sales of $5.66 billion,
an increase of 8.6 percent from $5.22 billion for the same month in
2009. Duane Reade stores, acquired in April 2010, contributed 2.8
percentage points to the total sales increase for the month.
Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) increased 2.1
percent. The effect of calendar day shifts positively impacted total
comparable sales by 1.0 percentage point. Duane Reade stores are not
included in any comparable store results.
August pharmacy sales increased 8.6 percent, while comparable pharmacy
sales increased 2.9 percent. The effect of calendar day shifts
positively impacted comparable pharmacy sales by 1.5 percentage points.
Comparable pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 2.6 percentage
points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months and by
0.3 percentage point due to lower incidence of flu. Pharmacy sales
accounted for 66.1 percent of total sales for the month.
Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 5.1 percent in
August, including 1.2 percentage points due to more patients filling
90-day prescriptions. Calendar day shifts positively impacted
prescriptions filled in comparable stores by 1.7 percentage points,
while the lower incidence of flu negatively impacted comparable
prescriptions filled by 0.7 percentage point.
Total front-end sales increased 8.3 percent in August, including 4.8
percentage points from Duane Reade. Comparable store front-end sales
increased 0.7 percent. Customer traffic in comparable stores decreased
0.8 percent, while basket size increased 1.5 percent.
Calendar year-to-date sales were $44.74 billion, an increase of 5.8
percent from $42.27 billion in 2009.
Total sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, which ended Aug. 31,
were $16.89 billion, up 7.6 percent from $15.70 billion. Comparable
store sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 increased 1.5 percent.
Total sales for fiscal 2010 were $67.44 billion, up 6.5 percent from
$63.34 billion. Comparable store sales for fiscal 2010 increased 1.6
percent.
Walgreens opened 27 stores during August, including four relocations,
and closed five.
At Aug. 31, Walgreens operated 8,053 locations in all 50 states, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. That includes 7,563
drugstores, 566 more than a year ago, including 281 stores acquired over
the last 12 months. The company also operates worksite health centers,
home care facilities and specialty, institutional and mail service
pharmacies. Its Take Care Health Systems subsidiary manages more than
700 in-store convenient care clinics and worksite health and wellness
centers. Franchisees of Option Care, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Walgreens, are not included in Walgreens location or store count.

August Comparable Sales and Prescriptions Filled

Calendar
Shift
Generics
Flu
Reported
Impact
Impact
Impact

Total Comp Sales
2.1%
1.0%
-1.7%
-0.2%

Comp Front End
0.7%
-
-

Comp Rx Sales
2.9%
1.5%
-2.6%
-0.3%

Comp Rx Scripts
5.1%*
1.7%
-
-0.7%

* Includes +1.2% from patients filling more 90-day prescriptions

Please note: Sales numbers and the adjustments shown in the table are
preliminary and unaudited. Comparable stores are defined as those
drugstore locations open for at least 12 consecutive months without
closure for seven or more consecutive days and without a major remodel
or a natural disaster in the past 12 months. Acquired operating
locations, including Duane Reade stores and relocations are not included
as comparable stores for the first 12 months after the acquisition or
relocation.
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Source: Business Wire