Walgreens August Sales Increase 8.6 %

Walgreens WAG 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.