CVS Reports Record Fourth-Quarter Sales Without Tobacco

CVS Health reported Tuesday that its fourth quarter, the first full three-month period without tobacco sales, was the company’s best ever, according to Forbes. The company stopped selling tobacco products in September.

Net revenues increased 12.9 percent to a record $37.1 billion, the company said.

“2014 will be remembered as the year in which we rebranded our company as CVS Health and made the right decision to exit the tobacco category, better aligning our company with patients, payors, and providers,” CEO Larry Merlo said in a news release.

Last February, the company announced it would stop selling tobacco products because the sales conflicted with its healthcare mission. CVS Health is the second-largest drugstore chain, behind Walgreens. It is the first drugstore chain to stop selling tobacco.

The company used to generate $2 billion in annual tobacco sales, the article notes. CVS increased sales of flu-related products in the last quarter because flu season started early this year, and this year’s vaccine was largely ineffective. The company also saw an increase in paying customers under the Affordable Care Act.

The company’s decision to end tobacco sales has improved its image, according to Forbes. The move has also helped attract employers to its pharmacy networks and prescription management business.