CVS Caremark 4Q earnings up 95.3%

WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS Caremark today announced today announced that net earnings for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 29, increased 95.3% to $815 million, or 55 cents per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $417.2 million or 49 cents per diluted share in the comparable 2006 period.

The company reported that net earnings for the full year 2007 increased 92.6% to $2.6 billion or $1.92 per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $1.4 billion or $1.60 per diluted share in 2006.

CVS Caremark said that net revenues for the quarter increased $9.8 billion to $21.9 billion, up from $12.1 billion during the same period last year. Same-store sales in the CVS/pharmacy division for the fourth quarter rose 3.4% over the prior year period. Pharmacy same-store sales rose 3.6% and were negatively impacted by approximately 450 basis points due to recent generic introductions, while front-end same store sales increased 2.9%.

For the full year, total revenue increased 74.2% to $76.3 billion, compared to $43.8 billion in 2006. Same-store sales in the CVS/pharmacy division increased 5.3% for the year, while pharmacy same-store sales increased 5.2% and front-end same-store sales increased 5.3%.