US retailer 7-Eleven has reported that total merchandise sales for December 2002 were US$606.8m, an increase of 5.7% over the December 2001 total of $574.2m.

US same-store merchandise sales for December 2002 increased 5.0%, while fuel sales for December 2002 were $253.0m, a 40.9% increase compared to the prior-year period.

For the full year 2002, merchandise sales totalled $7.3bn, an increase of 4.1% from the previous year. Fuel sales totalled $2.8bn, an increase of 2.8% year-on-year, bringing 7-Eleven’s total sales to just over $10bn for 2002.

The company says it will announce its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2002 on 30 January 2003.