Capital expenditures, excluding proceeds from sale and leaseback transactions, are expected to be approximately $600 million. Proceeds from sale and leaseback transaction are expected to be approximately $150 million. "This was a defining year for Rite Aid because we completed an acquisition that gives us significantly increased scale and greater strength in our key existing markets to better compete in the very competitive drug store sector," stated Mary Sammons, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Rite Aid. "And although we faced a challenging economic environment in the latter part of the year, we continued to build Rite Aid's core business by increasing same-store sales, filling more prescriptions, growing gross margin rate and controlling expenses.