The world’s largest coffee retailer, Starbucks Inc., announced late today very strong Q1 2010 earnings.

Total revenue for Q1 2010 was $2.72-billion, compared to $2.62-billion in the same period last year.

Starbucks posted total profits of $241.5-million ($0.32 per share), the most the company has ever recorded in a single quarter. The numbers compare to only a $64.3-million profit in the same period last year as people spent less due to the global economic downturn.

Starbucks today upped its expected profits for fiscal 2010 to $1.05-$1.08 on a per share basis.

The company also said it plans to open up to 100 new U.S. stores, and up to 200 new stores worldwide by the end of fiscal 2010.

Despite the positive news, Starbucks CEO and chairman Howard Schultz told investors during a conference call today that, “We have much more work to do,”

The company also said that it would focus more on customer service after apparently there was some neglect as the company put most of its efforts towards managing the fast-paced growth.

The Starbucks stock (NASDAQ: SBUX) is trading up almost 3-percent in after hours trading.