CVS Q4 profit up 11%, sales fall short

Woonsocket, R.I. CVS Caremark said Monday its profit rose 11% in the fourth quarter as results improved for its pharmacy benefits management business.

The company said it earned $1.05 billion in the last three months of 2009, up from $949 million a year ago. Revenue grew 7% to $25.82 billion from $24.14 billion.

According to a Thomson Reuters survey, analysts were expecting a lower profit and higher revenue.

Revenue from CVS drug stores rose 4.5% to $14.46 billion. Same-store sales were up 4.9%. Pharmacy revenue rose 7.3%; front-end sales edged up 0.3%.

At the Caremark pharmacy benefits management unit, which handles drug benefits for health plan sponsors and members, revenue grew 14.5% to $13.49 billion.

CVS' initial report did not include an update on how Caremark is doing at securing new contracts. In November, the company said Caremark had lost $4.8 billion in contracts for 2010, including about $2 billion over the previous three months.

For the year, CVS said its profit grew 16% to $3.7 billion. Revenue rose 13% to $98.73 billion.