Consumers who kept spending after the holidays ended helped boost profit at UPS.

United Parcel Service Co. said Thursday that first-quarter profit rose 7 percent to $1.04 billion.

The company's adjusted profit was $1.04 per share, better than the $1 per share that analysts expected.

Daily package volume in the U.S. increased and company revenue rose 2 percent to $13.43 billion, although that was a bit less than Wall Street predicted.

Atlanta-based UPS is sticking with its forecast of 2013 adjusted earnings of $4.80 to $5.06 per share. Analysts expect $4.98 per share.

UPS also announced Thursday that it will buy Hungarian pharmaceuticals-delivery company Cemelog Zrt. Financial terms were not disclosed. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter.

Earlier this year, UPS withdrew a $6.7 billion offer for Dutch package-delivery company TNT Express NV after European antitrust regulators blocked the deal, saying it would limit competition too much and lead to higher prices. TNT would have been UPS' largest acquisition.