Rite Aid June sales fall on decreased flu revenue

Drugstore operator Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday that its total revenue and a key revenue indicator both fell in June compared with a year earlier, when consumers' worries about the swine flu outbreak boosted sales of flu shots and treatments.

At stores open at least a year, Rite Aid said, revenue fell 2.5 percent in the four weeks that ended June 26. Pharmacy revenue from those stores dropped 3.1 percent, and prescriptions decreased by 3.7 percent. Sales of food, cosmetics, magazines, and other products fell 1.1 percent.

Revenue at stores open at least a year is a key measure of a retailer's performance because it isn't skewed by results from stores that opened or closed over the year.

The company said total sales for the four-week period fell 3.3 percent to $1.91 billion from $1.97 billion in 2009.

Rite Aid ran 4,759 stores as of June 26, 63 fewer than at the end of June 2009.

In morning trading, Rite Aid shares lost a penny to 97 cents. Earlier shares traded at a 52-week low of 94 cents.