By Nathalie Tadena
Cigna Corp. (CI) third-quarter earnings climbed 19% as the
managed-care company's membership count and revenue continued to
grow.
The company again raised its full-year earnings view, now
projecting a full-year per-share profit of $6.70 to $6.90. August
guidance called for adjusted earnings from operations of $6.25 to
$6.65 a share.
Cigna has logged increased revenue in recent quarters, aided by
growing membership and acquisitions. The company, which
traditionally focused more on commercial health insurance, pushed
further into the market for senior-focused plans by buying Medicare
insurer HealthSpring Inc. and American Financial Group Inc.'s (AFG)
Medicare supplement and critical-illness businesses last year.
Cigna reported a profit of $553 million, or $1.95 a share, up
from $466 million, or $1.61 a share, a year earlier. Excluding
realized investment gains, guaranteed minimum income benefits
results and other items, adjusted earnings from operations rose to
$1.89 a share from $1.69. Operating revenue, which excludes net
realized investment gains, increased 9.3% to $8.04 billion. Total
revenue rose 10% to $8.07 billion.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast
per-share earnings of $1.63 on revenue of $7.24 billion.
Total medical customers rose to 14.3 million from 14 million
last year.
The global health care segment, Cigna's largest, posted a 12%
profit increase. Premiums and fees increased 7.3% in global health
care.
Shares closed at $74.64 and were inactive premarket. The stock
is up 40% year-to-date.
Write to Nathalie Tadena at nathalie.tadena@wsj.com
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