Walgreen 4Q profit rises 8 percent

NEW YORK (AP) - Walgreen Co., the largest drugstore chain in the U.S., says its profit rose 8 percent in the fiscal fourth quarter on higher prescription drug sales.

The Deerfield, Ill., company said Tuesday it earned $470 million, or 49 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 31. That's up from $436 million, or 44 cents per share, a year ago. Revenue rose 7 percent to $16.87 billion from $15.7 billion as the company continued to expand.

Thomson Reuters says analysts expected a profit of 44 cents per share and $16.84 billion in revenue.

Walgreen runs 7,561 drugstores around the country. It has opened or acquired 564 locations in the last year, including the Duane Reade chain in New York City.