Walgreen's sales fall short
The drugstore chain was hurt by the introduction of new generic drugs, which are less profitable than brand-name drugs.
By Jeanine Poggi, TheStreet
Walgreen's (WAG) August comparable-store sales increased 2.1%, but the figure fell short of forecasts.
The drugstore reported a 2.9% jump in pharmacy same-store sales, while front end inched up 0.7%.
Walgreen has been hurt by the introduction of new generic drugs and weak customer traffic. Generic drugs tend to have a higher profit margin but hurt sales because they are cheaper.
Comparable sales do not include results from the newly acquired Duane Reade chain.
Walgreen also announced on Friday that it will acquire the home-infusion business of Omnicare (OCR) in exchange for its long-term-care pharmacy business. The deal is expected to close before Nov. 15. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Rival Rite Aid (RAD) reported a 1% drop in same-store sales, which was in line with expectations.
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