(By Balachander) Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE: RAD), a retail drugstore chain, said 790 of its stores were closed at the height of Hurricane Sandy, which will negatively impact same store sales results for November.
The Camp Hill, Pennsylvania-based company said it does not expect the storm to have a material impact on its 2013 results.
As of Nov. 12, 2012, all stores impacted by Sandy, with the exception of the Rite Aid store in Lavallette, N.J., have been reopened and are servicing customers, the company said.
Rite Aid said its store in Lavallette remains closed due to restricted access to the barrier island.
In addition, the company said four stores — three in New York and one in New Jersey — have established temporary pharmacies to ensure patients have access to prescription and other medications while the front-end of the stores are being repaired, which is expected to be completed by next month.
In September, Rite Aid posted a narrower-than-expected loss for the second quarter boosted by continued front end sales and prescription count growth as well as an improvement in gross margin. Yet the company reduced its sales forecast for 2013, citing negative impact from new generic launches and continued reimbursement rate pressure.
The company lost 5 cents a share in the second quarter, compared with a loss of 11 cents per share in the year-ago quarter.
Revenue declined 0.6 percent to $6.2 billion and same store sales were flat.
The stock, which has been trading in the 52-week range of $1.04 to $2.12, rose 1.90 percent to trade at $1.07 on Monday.