Shoppers Drug Mart announces increase for FY 2007

TORONTO Shoppers Drug Mart on Tuesday reported a sales increase of 8.9 percent to $8.4 billion (in U.S. dollars) for its fiscal 2007 ending Dec. 29.

Prescription sales increased 9.1 percent to $4 billion and front-store sales were up 8.7 percent to $4.5 billion. On a same-store basis, sales increased 5.2 percent, with prescription sales up 5.8 percent and front-store comp sales up 4.7 percent.

In fiscal 2007, prescription sales accounted for 47 percent of the company’s sales mix compared to 46.9 percent in the prior year.

At year-end, there were 1,121 stores in the system, comprised of 1,057 drug stores and 64 Shoppers Home Health Care stores. During 2007, the selling square footage of the store network increased by 11.5 percent, to in excess of 9.7 million square feet at year end.

Shoppers Drug Mart expects total sales to increase by between 10.5 percent and 12 percent in 2008, a 53-week fiscal year. This expectation is underpinned by projected same-store sales growth, expressed on a 52-week basis, of between 5 percent and 6 percent in pharmacy and 4.5 percent to 5.5 percent in the front store.

Shoppers Drug Mart plans to allocate approximately $500 million to capital expenditures in 2008, with approximately 80 percent of this amount being invested in the store network, including acquisitions of drug stores, prescription files and land. Once again, this should result in an increase in selling square footage of more than 10 percent, the company stated, with the addition of between 120 and 130 new drug stores, approximately 40 to 45 of which will be relocations, and through the completion of up to 10 major expansions.

The Company also plans to add up to five home health care stores to its network in 2008.