Walgreens reports 11% increase in April sales

DEERFIELD, Ill. Walgreens reported an 11% jump in sales to $5.38 billion, compared with the year-ago period.

Sales in comparable stores (those open at least a year) rose 5.7%, while comparable-store front-end sales increased 8.9%, the company reported Monday morning. Sales were helped by Easter falling in April this year, compared with a March Easter last year.

Sales for the combined months of March and April 2009 increased 9% from the same two months in 2008. Comparable-store sales for the March/April period rose 3.7%, while comparable-store front-end sales for the combined months increased 1.3%.

Walgreens also reported that April pharmacy sales increased 8.5%, while comparable pharmacy sales increased 4%. Comparable-pharmacy sales were negatively impacted by 4 percentage points due to generic drug introductions in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, total prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 3.7% in April. Pharmacy sales accounted for 65.4% of total sales for the month. Calendar day shifts negatively impacted prescriptions filled in comparable stores by 0.5 percentage points.

Fiscal 2009 year-to-date sales for the eight months were $42.27 billion, up 7.4% from approximately $39.38 billion. Comparable store sales for the fiscal year to date increased 2.0 percent.

Walgreens opened 51 drug stores during April, including four relocations, acquired one store and closed one.

As of April 30, Walgreens operated 7,282 locations in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. That includes 6,783 drugstores, 579 more than the year-ago period. The company also operates worksite health centers, home care facilities and specialty, institutional and mail service pharmacies. Its Take Care Health Systems subsidiary manages 716 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.