Walgreen Operating Results Miss Forecasts

Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, said quarterly profit rose but operating performance lagged behind company expectations on soft sales of non-pharmacy goods, sending its stock lower.

Net income in the period ended May 31 was $296.1 million, or 29 cents a share, up from $259 million, or 25 cents, a year ago.

But third-quarter profit was boosted by a $12-million pretax gain from legal settlements with companies accused of fixing the prices of vitamins and a lower inventory charge, resulting from the company’s lower expectation for inflation on the value of inventory.

Quarterly sales were $8.3 billion, up 12.6% from a year ago. Same-store sales -- a measure of stores open at least a year -- rose 8.2%, Walgreen said.

Walgreen shares fell $2.46 to $29.79 on the NYSE.