CVS Corporation September Sales Increase 8.8%; Company Raises Third Quarter and Full Year Earnings Guidance.Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers WOONSOCKET, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 2003 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 five-week period ended September 27, 2003 increased 8.8% to $2.49 billion, compared to $2.29 billion in the prior year period. 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 five weeks ended September 27, 2003 increased 6.6% over the prior year period. Pharmacy same store sales increased 8.2%, while front-end same store sales increased 3.1%. Total pharmacy sales represented 69.7% of total company sales in September. For the third quarter, total sales increased 8.5% to $6.38 billion, compared to $5.88 billion in the prior year period. Same store sales for the thirteen weeks ended September 27, 2003 increased 6.4% over the prior year period. Pharmacy same store sales increased 8.5%, while front-end same store sales increased 1.9%. Total pharmacy sales represented 69.4% of total company sales in the quarter. Year-to-date, total sales for the thirty-nine week period ended September 27, 2003, increased 7.3% to $19.14 billion, compared to $17.84 billion in 2002. Same store sales for the thirty-nine week period increased 5.2% over the prior year period. Pharmacy same store sales increased 7.7%, while front-end same store sales increased 0.2%. "I am very pleased with our results as we finished the third quarter," stated Tom Ryan, Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer. "I believe we are starting to see the benefits of the merchandising and customer service initiatives in our stores. In addition, third quarter gross margin was better than expected. Our solid sales growth, coupled with our gross margin performance, will enable us to deliver approximately 46 cents per diluted share, exceeding earlier expectations," concluded Mr. Ryan. The Company raised its full year estimate of 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 to a range of $1.95-$2.00, up from its earlier guidance of $1.93-$1.98. The Company plans to announce its results for the third quarter on October 29, 2003. The Company will be holding a conference call on October 29th for the investment community at 8:30 a.m. (EST EST electroshock therapy. EST abbr. electroshock therapy ) to discuss the quarterly results. The call will be simulcast on the Company's web site for all interested parties. To access the webcast, visit the Company's web site at http://investor.cvs.com to hear the call live, or listen to an archive of the call, which will be available for a one-week period following the call. As of September 27, 2003, CVS operated 4,137 retail and specialty pharmacy stores in 32 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). . Celebrating 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 over 4,100 CVS/pharmacy(R) stores, its online pharmacy; CVS.com(R) and its 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 specialty pharmacy subsidiary, PharmaCare Management Services. General information about CVS is available through the Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. portion of the Company's web site, at http://investor.cvs.com. 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 December 28, 2002 and in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 28, 2003. |
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