CVS Caremark sees strong earnings growth

WOONSOCKET, R.I. CVS Caremark Corp. today announced that net earnings for the second quarter ended June 30, increased 114.1% to $723.6 million or 47 cents per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $337.9 million or 40 cents per diluted share in the comparable 2006 period. Net earnings for the six months ended June 30 increased 69.7% to $1.1 billion or 91 cents per diluted share, compared with net earnings of $667.5 million or 78 cents per diluted share in the comparable 2006 period. The company estimates merger and integration costs associated with the March 22 merger between CVS Corp. and Caremark Rx Inc. negatively impacted diluted earnings per share by 1 cent and 2 cents for the second quarter and first six months of 2007, respectively.

The company reported that net revenues for the second quarter ended June 30, increased $10.1 billion to $20.7 billion, up from $10.6 billion during the comparable 2006 period. Same-store sales in its CVS/pharmacy division rose 5.7%, while pharmacy same-store sales rose 5.7% and front-end same store sales increased 5.9% for the second quarter ended June 30.