CVS 2Q Profit Up

Woonsocket, R.I. CVS Caremark Corp. said Thursday its second-quarter profit grew 7% as sales at its drug stores rose, and use of more profitable generic drugs increased.

CVS said its profit rose to $771.2 million in the quarter ended June 28, from $720.1 million a year earlier. Revenue increased 2% to $21.14 billion from $20.7 billion.

CVS’ drug store sales rose 4.6% to $11.77 billion, and pharmacy services sales edged up 1% to $10.66 billion.

Same-store sales grew 3.7%.

CVS operated 6,308 retail pharmacies at the end of the quarter, along with 56 specialty pharmacies and 26 mail-order pharmacies. During the quarter, it opened 49 new retail pharmacies and closed eight others.