UPDATE: Walgreen Posts Rise In FQ1 Profit

Walgreen Co

reported a rise in its fiscal first-quarter profit. Walgreen's quarterly profit surged to $695 million, or $0.72 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $413 million or $0.43 per share. Its adjusted earnings came in at $0.72 per share. Its net sales climbed to $18.33 billion from $17.32 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.72 per share on sales of $18.36 billion. Walgreen shares gained 1.86% to $58.00 in pre-market trading.