UPDATE 1-Canada's Jean Coutu narrowly tops estimates
*EPS C$0.16 vs consensus C$0.15
*Revenue rises 7.8 percent to C$619.3 mln (Adds details)
TORONTO, July 7 (Reuters) - Canadian pharmacy chain Jean Coutu (PJCa.TO) reported a first-quarter profit on Tuesday that narrowly topped estimates despite the poor performance of 30-percent-owned Rite Aid Corp (RAD.N) in the United States.
The Montreal-based chain said it earned C$10.3 million, or 4 Canadian cents a share, for the quarter that ended May 30, compared with a loss of C$20.2 million, or 8 Canadian cents a share for the same time last year.
The company boasts some 358 stores in Canada -- in Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario.
Earnings before specific items and the share of loss in Rite Aid was C$38.5 million, or 16 Canadian cents per share.
Revenue rose 7.8 percent to C$619.3 million.
Analysts were expecting an average profit of 15 Canadian cents a share before items and revenue of C$606.9 million, according to Reuters Estimates.
Jean Coutu said its share of net losses at Rite Aid, the No. 3 U.S. drugstore chain, was C$30.9 million, or 13 Canadian cents, compared with C$53.4 million, or 21 Canadian cents per share, for the same time a year earlier.
Last month, Rite Aid narrowed its loss to $98.4 million, or 11 cents per share, in the first quarter that ended May 30, from $156.6 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier. ($1=$1.16 Canadian) (Reporting by Scott Anderson, editing by Maureen Bavdek)
