Anthem, which is fighting a U.S. government lawsuit to block its deal to buy Cigna, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue, helped by higher premiums and an increase in members.
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The no. 2 U.S. health insurer said it expected 2017 operating revenue of $86.5 billion-$87.5 billion and adjusted net income to be greater than $11.50 per share.
Analysts on average estimated full-year earnings of $11.53 per share and revenue of $86.68 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company said net income rose to $368.4 million, or $1.37 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $180.9 million, or 68 cents per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.76 per share, handily beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.61, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Medical enrollment totaled about 39.9 million members as of Dec. 31 up from 38.6 million a year earlier.
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Total operating revenue rose 7.3 percent to $21.48 billion, above analysts’ average estimate of $20.92 billion.
A U.S. judge blocked health insurer Aetna Inc’s proposed $34 billion acquisition of smaller peer Humana Inc last week, raising the stakes for Anthem’s $54 billion deal to buy Cigna. The decision for the Anthem-Cigna deal is still pending.
Anthem’s benefit expense ratio rose to 87.2 percent from 87.0 percent in the year-ago period. The metric measures an insurer’s expenditure on claims against the premiums it earns.
(Reporting by Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D’Couto)
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