CVS Corporation February Sales Increase 35.9%; Company Raises Earnings Guidance.WOONSOCKET, R.I. -- CVS (1) (Concurrent Versions System) A version control system for Unix that was initially developed as a series of shell scripts in the mid-1980s. CVS maintains the changes between one source code version and another and stores all the changes in one file. Corporation (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : CVS) today announced that total sales for the four-week period ended February 26, 2005 increased 35.9% to $2.89 billion, compared to $2.13 billion in the prior year period. The increase includes the impact of the acquisition completed on July 31, 2004, of 1,268 Eckerd drugstores, as well as Eckerd's pharmacy benefit management A Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) is a third party administrator of prescription drug programs. They are primarily responsible for processing and paying prescription drug claims. and mail order pharmacy business. Total pharmacy sales represented 70.2% of total company sales in February. Same store sales Same Store Sales A statistic used in retail industry analysis. It compares sales of stores that have been open for a year or more. Notes: This statistic allows investors to determine what portion of new sales has come from sales growth and what portion from the opening of (sales from stores open more than one year) for the four weeks ended February 26, 2005 increased 9.2% over the comparable prior year four-week period. Pharmacy same store sales increased 10.5%, while front-end same store sales increased 6.4%. Same store sales do not include the acquired Eckerd drugstores, which will be included in same store sales beginning in August 2005. Year-to-date, total sales for the eight-week period ended February 26, 2005, increased 35.1% to $5.63 billion, compared to $4.17 billion in 2004. Same store sales for the eight-week period increased 8.6% over the prior year period. Pharmacy same store sales increased 9.9%, while front-end same store sales increased 5.9%. "I am very pleased with our sales growth so far this quarter," stated Tom Ryan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CVS Corporation. "Our results have been above our expectations and have been driven primarily by strong flu-related sales in both the pharmacy and the front-end's cough and cold categories. This provides us with an opportunity for some additional investments to further enhance our competitive position," concluded Mr. Ryan. Given the stronger-than-expected results, the Company raised its first quarter diluted earnings per share diluted earnings per share An earnings measure calculated by dividing net income less preferred stock dividends for a period by the average number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted into shares of guidance to a range of $0.66-$0.69, up from its earlier guidance of $0.59-$0.61. The Company also raised its full year diluted earnings per share guidance to a range of $2.66 - $2.72, up from its earlier guidance of $2.62 - $2.68, both excluding the impact of expensing stock options. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995. The Company strongly recommends that you become familiar with the specific risks and uncertainties outlined under the caption "Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements" in its Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2004 and in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the quarter ended October 2, 2004. CVS is America's #1 retail pharmacy, operating 5,398 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 36 states and the District of Columbia District of Columbia, federal district (2000 pop. 572,059, a 5.7% decrease in population since the 1990 census), 69 sq mi (179 sq km), on the east bank of the Potomac River, coextensive with the city of Washington, D.C. (the capital of the United States). as of February 26, 2005. With more than 40 years of dynamic growth in the retail pharmacy industry, CVS is committed to being the easiest pharmacy retailer for customers to use. CVS has created innovative approaches to serve the healthcare needs of all customers through its CVS/pharmacy(R) stores; its online pharmacy, CVS.com(R); and its pharmacy benefit management and specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare(R). General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations portion of the Company's website, at http://investor.CVS.com, as well as through the press room portion of the Company's website, at www.cvs.com/pressroom. |
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