NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
CVS Corp.'s said Wednesday its first-quarter profit slid from a year earlier but matched Wall Street's raised forecasts, helped by stronger sales.
The No. 2 U.S. drugstore chain, behind Walgreen (WAG: Research, Estimates), said earnings for the quarter ended March 31 came in at $175.7 million, or 43 cents a share, matching analysts' forecasts, according to earnings tracker First Call, but were down from $221.7 million, or 54 cents, a year earlier.
CVS raised its quarterly guidance by a penny on April 9, citing a strong Easter selling season.
First-quarter sales rose 10.9 percent to $6 billion from $5.4 billion. The Woonsocket, R.I.-based chain said sales at stores open at least a year, a key gauge known as same-store sales, rose 10.2 percent from a year ago. Pharmacy sales represented 67 percent of total company sales in the quarter.
Separately, CVS said April same-store sales increased 7.1 percent from a year earlier, but were dampened by the early Easter holiday, which pushed April sales back into March.
Shares of CVS (CVS: Research, Estimates) added $1.14 to $33.62 Tuesday.
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