Second quarter net revenue at CVS was up 4.5% as growth in the company’s pharmacy services segment offset declines in comparable store-based pharmacy sales and front end sales.
For the quarter ended June 30, net revenue was $45.7 billion, up from $43.7 billion in the same quarter in 2016.
Net income for the quarter increased $174 million or 18.8%, to $1.1 billion. The increase was primarily due to the absence of a $542 million loss on early extinguishment of debt in the current year, partially offset by a $240 million decrease in operating profit and an increase in the effective income tax rate, from 39.5% to 41.1%. GAAP earnings per diluted share from continuing operations was $1.07, compared to $0.86 in the prior year.
Revenues in the pharmacy services segment increased 9.5% to $32.3 billion. This increase was primarily driven by growth in pharmacy network claim volume as well as brand inflation and specialty pharmacy volume, partially offset by increased generic dispensing and price compression.
Front store same store sales declined 2.1% in the quarter as the shift of the Easter holiday to the second quarter in 2017 from the first quarter in 2016 had an approximately 75 basis point positive impact. Front store same store sales were also negatively impacted by softer customer traffic and efforts to rationalize promotional strategies, partially offset by an increase in basket size, the company said.
Pharmacy same store sales decreased 2.8% and were negatively impacted by approximately 410 basis points due to recent generic introductions.
