Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), which is the biggest coffee-shop chain in the world, reported its 1^st quarter profit that rose by 10%, as customer purchased more specialty drinks in the holidays.

Net income in the period, which concluded on January 1, increased to $382.1mn or $0.50 per share in contrast with last year’s $346.6mn or $0.45, as said by Starbucks today in a statement. Analysts estimated $0.49, the average of 25 forecasts amassed by Bloomberg.

CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz has spent over a year in scheduling beverages and merchandises for the holiday season. The company looks to increase its sales with a low-calorie peppermint mocha, which was added as a new entrant in the menu list this year, together with Keurig brand single-serve capsules and Via instant coffee.

Chief Financial Officer of the company, Troy Alstead stated in a telephone interview that it was the best holiday season in the history of Starbucks. Consumers loaded $500mn on Starbucks gift cards in Dec.

The company narrowed its estimate for profit not including some items to a range of $1.78 to $1.82 per share for fiscal 2012 in contrast with a previous estimate of $1.75 to $1.82. On an average analysts forecast of $1.83.

Starbucks dropped by 1.9% to settle at $47.40 as of 4:54 p.m. in New York’s time after increasing by 1.2% in the regular trading. The shares added up by 43% in 2011.

Starbucks operating income as a percentage of revenue tightened to 16.2% in the 1^st quarter from 17% in 2011, as a result of higher commodity costs, as said by the company.