Pharmacy sales boost CVS profit by 7 percent

(File photo: Daniel Barry/Bloomberg News)

CVS Caremark Corp., a drugstore operator and pharmacy benefits manager headquartered in Woonsocket, R.I., said its profit grew 7 percent in the third quarter as retail pharmacy revenue improved.

CVS said it earned $732.5 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $686.1 million, or 45 cents per share a year ago. It said revenue grew 2 percent, to $20.86 billion from $20.5 billion, with retail pharmacy revenue up 5 percent to $11.54 billion.

CVS said it earned 56 cents per share excluding one-time items. Thomson Reuters says analysts expected greater profit of 60 cents per share and $21.06 billion in revenue.

Better pharmacy sales and front-end revenue lifted CVS's retail pharmacy profit, and CVS said sales at older stores grew 3.7 percent. It said pharmacy services revenue fell about 1 percent. (AP)