Rite Aid Same-Store Sales Rose 0.6% In December

Rite Aid Corp.'s (RAD) same-store sales rose 0.6% from a year earlier in December, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking the first monthly growth since May 2009. Both the front-of-the-store and pharmacy sales increased. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a decline of 1%. Though the No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain behind Walgreen Co. (WAG) and CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) has cut costs and refinanced debt, it has struggled to turn revenue around in recent years. The company has posted losses since its 2007 acquisition of the Brooks and Eckerd chains that saddled it with debt