US: Walgreen earnings rose 25% in second quarter

Walgreen Co.'s second-quarter earnings rose 25 percent, more than analysts estimated, on increased sales of more-profitable generic drugs.

Net income climbed to $651.9 million, or 65 cents a share, from $523.5 million, or 51 cents, a year earlier, the company said Monday. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had forecast profit of 61 cents at Walgreen, the largest U.S. drugstore chain.

Sales at the company, based in Deerfield, Ill., advanced 15 percent to $13.9 billion. Walgreen trimmed expenses, and its gross profit margin rose half a percentage point as unbranded versions of anti-depressant Zoloft and cholesterol drug Zocor boosted prescription-drug demand.

"The quarter was all about margins and expense control," Don Gher, chief investment officer at Coldstream Capital Management in Bellevue, Wash., said. "They delivered on both." His firm manages more than $1 billion in assets, including shares of Walgreen.

Shares of Walgreen (WAG) fell 47 cents, to $47.30, in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock is up 6.6 percent in the past 12 months.

Source: app.com