03 Nov 2009 —  Walgreens Announces October 2009 Sales Up 9.4%

Walgreens reported sales for the month of October 2009 of USD 6.651 billion, a 9.4% increase from the same numbers reported in October 2008. Due to one less Wednesday and additional Saturday in October 2009, calendar day shifts negatively impacted comparable store sales, comparable pharmacy sales, and prescriptions filled in comparable stores by 1.1%, 1.7%, and 1.7%, respectively.

• Comparable store sales (comps) grew 4.9%.
• Front-end comps increased 4.7%.
• Pharmacy sales grew 9.3%, accounting for 66.3% of total sales.
• Pharmacy comps increased 5.0%. New generic introductions negatively impacted pharmacy comps by 2.2%, while flu shots positively impacted pharmacy comps by 1.0%.
• Total prescriptions filled at comparable stores increased 8.6%, 1.3% due to patients filling more 90-day prescriptions and 2.4% due to seasonal flu shots.

Walgreens total fiscal sales for 2010 increased 9.9% over the prior year to USD 11.009 billion.  Comps increased 5.1% for fiscal year 2010.

On October 31, 2009, Walgreens operated 7,603 locations in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam, 7,105 of which are drugstores.