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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:16 p.m., Tuesday, May 5, 2009

CVS Caremark lifts outlook on expected PBM growth

Associated Press

NEW YORK — CVS Caremark Corp. raised its full-year profit forecast Tuesday, saying it expects greater revenue for its pharmacy benefits management business and the operations of Longs Drugs are performing well.

The Woonsocket, R.I., company said it expects a profit of $2.55 per share to $2.63 per share this year, up from a forecast of $2.53 per share to $2.61 per share in January. It also set its revenue guidance above analyst estimates, predicting growth of 12 percent to 14 percent over 2008 levels. That suggest CVS will report $97.97 billion to $99.72 billion in revenue.

Analysts expected a profit of $2.57 per share and $97.67 billion in revenue, according to a Thomson Reuters estimate. In morning trading, CVS shares rose 83 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $32.86.

CVS now believes revenue from the pharmacy benefits management part of its business will grow 15 percent to 17 percent this year. In January, it called for growth of 10 percent to 12 percent.

CVS said the acquired business of Longs Drugs is better than it had expected. CVS bought Longs last year, acquiring 529 stores in California, Hawai'i and New Mexico, along with a pharmacy benefits management unit called RxAmerica. The company says the Longs acquisition will reduce its profit by 4 cents to 5 cents per share this year, down from an earlier estimate of 6 cents to 7 cents.

The company also expects to record a gain in the second quarter as it changes the way it accounts for RxAmerica's business. In total, CVS said it will earn 63 cents to 65 cents per share in the second quarter, excluding one-time costs, on revenue of $24.52 billion to $24.95 billion — growth of 16 percent to 18 percent.

Analysts expected a profit of 63 cents per share and $24.04 billion in revenue.

CVS said it expects same-store sales, or revenue at locations open for at least one year, to grow between 4 percent and 6 percent in the second quarter. That includes a benefit from the later Easter holiday, which was in April this year but fell in late March in 2008.

Including one-time costs, CVS expects a profit of $2.37 per share to $2.45 per share for the year, with 59 cents to 61 cents per share in the second quarter.

The company's first-quarter profit matched analyst expectations.