CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS) fourth-quarter earnings rose 10%, company posted a bigger-than-expected rise in quarterly profit on Monday, as results improved for its pharmacy benefits management business.
CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS) fourth-quarter net income climbed to $1.05 billion, or 74 cents a share, from $949 million, or 65 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Adjusted earnings per share rose to 79 cents from 70 cents, topping analysts’ average forecast of 78 cents. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.78 per share. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.
Its growth came a quarter after CVS said the PBM had lost about $4.8 billion in contracts heading into 2010, leading to the departure of the unit’s president. In December, CVS won an extension on its contract with a Texas pension fund worth about $1 billion. It also named Per Lofberg as the new president of the PBM in December.
During the fourth quarter, the company opened 23 retail pharmacies, relocated eight, and closed six. It also closed two specialty pharmacies, leaving it with 49. CVS now has a total of 7,025 drugstores.