CAMP HILL, Pa. — Same-store sales at Rite Aid Corp. grew more in August than in the previous month, with solid gains in the front end and the pharmacy.

Rite Aid said Thursday that for the five weeks ended Aug. 27, 2011, comparable-store sales rose 2.5% versus a year earlier. That growth topped the 1.9% comp-store sales increase that the drug store chain recorded in July and continued the retailer’s string of monthly same-store sales gains this year.

In the front end, same-store sales climbed 2.9% in August. Rite Aid attribued about 1.5% of that increase to sales associated with Hurricane Irene.

Pharmacy same-store sales, meanwhile, advanced 2.3% in August and reflected a negative impact of 132 basis points from generic drug introductions, Rite Aid said. Prescription count at comparable stores edged up 0.2% over the year-ago period.

Total drug store sales for in August came in at just over $2.40 billion, up 2.5% from more than $2.34 billion a year earlier.

For the 13-week quarter ended Aug. 27, Rite Aid’s same-store sales gained 2.2%, including increases of 2.5% in the front end and 2% in the pharmacy. Prescription count at comparable stores was virtually flat, up 0.1%. The chain’s overall drug store revenue in the quarter totaled nearly $6.25 billion, a year-over-year gain of 1.8%.

Comp-store sales also were up for the year to date, rising 1.5% for the 26-week period ended Aug. 27, according to Rite Aid. Same-store results in the period reflected increases of 1.3% in the front end and 1.6% in the pharmacy, while prescriptions filled at comparable stores edged up 0.3%. Total drug store sales for the 26 weeks rose 0.9% to roughly $12.61 billion.

As of Aug. 27, Rite Aid operated 4,697 drug stores, compared with 4,747 stores in the prior-year period.