Drugstore operator Walgreens Boots Alliance reported a better-than-expected profit for the third quarter, helped by cost cuts and higher sales of Medicare Part D drugs in the United States.

The company, which also owns the Boots chemists chain in Britain and Ireland, also raised the lower end of its full-year adjusted profit forecast. Walgreens did not say how, if at all, Britain's vote to leave the European Union would affect its business.

The company generated 11 per cent of its revenue from continental Europe and 9 per cent from the UK in the year to end-August 2015.

Walgreens’ revenue and profit from its international business could come under pressure in the near term due to the fall in value of sterling, said Neil Saunders, chief executive of research firm Conlumino. “This will, in our view, more than offset any sales gains made in local currency terms,” he said.

Walgreens, which has been cutting costs, said it had achieved its goal to reach at least $1 billion in synergies from the Boots deal.

Excluding items, Walgreens’ profit of $1.18 per share beat analysts average estimate of $1.14. Net sales rose 2.4 per cent to $29.5 billion, missing the average estimate of $29.71 billion. – Reuters