DEERFIELD, Ill., May 04, 2011 - Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (NASDAQ: WAG) had April sales of $5.99 billion, an increase of 5.5 percent from $5.68 billion for the same month in 2010. Duane Reade stores, acquired in April 2010, contributed 0.7 percentage point to the total sales increase for the month.
Total front-end sales increased 9.4 percent in April, including 1.3 percentage points from Duane Reade stores. Comparable store front-end sales increased 6.5 percent, benefiting from this year’s later Easter, which fell on April 24 this year compared with April 4 last year. Customer traffic in comparable stores increased 2.3 percent, while basket size increased 4.2 percent.
For the combined March/April period, comparable store front-end sales increased by 4.1 percent, while customer traffic in comparable stores increased 1.6 percent and basket size increased 2.5 percent.
Prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 2.3 percent in April. Calendar day shifts negatively impacted prescriptions filled in comparable stores by 1.9 percentage points. In addition, the recent switch of Allegra to over-the-counter availability negatively impacted prescriptions filled by 0.3 percentage point.
April pharmacy sales increased 3.5 percent, while comparable pharmacy sales increased 1.8 percent. The effect of calendar day shifts negatively impacted comparable pharmacy sales by 1.9 percentage points, and comparable pharmacy sales were also negatively impacted by 1.9 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months. Pharmacy sales accounted for 64.4 percent of total sales for the month.
Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) for the month increased 3.4 percent. The effect of calendar day shifts negatively impacted total comparable sales by 1.2 percentage points. Duane Reade stores are not included in any comparable store results.
Sales for the combined months of March and April 2011 increased 6.7 percent from the same two months in 2010. Comparable store sales for the March/April period rose 3.3 percent.
Calendar year-to-date sales were $23.99 billion, an increase of 8.2 percent from $22.16 billion in 2010.
Fiscal 2011 year-to-date sales for the first eight months were $48.13 billion, up 7.3 percent from $44.86 billion.
Walgreens opened 14 stores during April, including one relocation, and closed one.
At April 30, Walgreens operated 8,169 locations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. That includes 7,709 drugstores, 202 more than a year ago, including 23 stores acquired over the last 12 months. The company also operates worksite health centers, home care facilities and specialty 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.
| April Comparable Sales and Prescriptions Filled | ||||||||
| Calendar Shift | Generics | Cough, Cold | ||||||
Reported | Impact | Impact | Impact | |||||
| Total Comp Sales | 3.4% | -1.2% | -1.2% | 0.1% | ||||
| Comp Front End | 6.5% | - | - | |||||
| Comp Rx Sales | 1.8% | -1.9% | -1.9% | 0.2% | ||||
| Comp Rx Scripts | 2.3%* | -1.9% | - | 0.1% | ||||
| * Includes +2.5% from patients filling more 90-day prescriptions | ||||||||
| March/April Combined Comparable Sales and Prescriptions Filled | ||||||||
| Calendar Shift | Generics | Cough, Cold | ||||||
Reported | Impact | Impact | Impact | |||||
| Total Comp Sales | 3.3% | -0.9% | -1.4% | 0% | ||||
| Comp Front End | 4.1% | - | - | |||||
| Comp Rx Sales | 2.8% | -1.4% | -2.1% | 0% | ||||
| Comp Rx Scripts | 3.4%* | -1.4% | - | 0.2% | ||||
| * Includes +2.4% from patients filling more 90-day prescriptions | ||||||||
Please note: Sales numbers and the adjustments shown in the table are preliminary, unaudited and subject to revision. 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.
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, including, but not limited to, those described in Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, each of which is incorporated herein by reference, and in other documents that we file or furnish with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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. Except to the extent required by law, Walgreens undertakes no obligation 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.