DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Walgreen Co.'s (WAG) same-store sales climbed 4.9% in October, following a strong gain in September and showing that the company is rebounding from weakness earlier this year.
The drug-store chain also reported a stout 4.7% climb at the front end of the store. The industry has generally been reporting weak non-pharmacy sales for some time, with Walgreen returning to growth in that space in September.
Pharmacy same-store-sales growth was 5%, with seasonal flu shots adding 1 percentage point while generic-drug introductions the past year subtracted 2.2 points from the figure.
Filled prescriptions rose 8.6% on a same-store-sales basis, with nearly half the gain due to flu shots and more patients filling 90-day prescriptions.
Walgreen added October results were weaker than they otherwise would have been because the results had one less Wednesday and one more Saturday than a year earlier.
Shares closed Monday at $38.71 and were inactive premarket. The stock is up 57% this year.
-By Kevin Kingsbury; Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2354; kevin.kingsbury@dowjones.com