| Humana 3Q net profit rises |
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02/11/2009 16:39 (19 Day 00:04 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- Health insurer Humana Inc (HUM.N) posted a 65 percent jump in third-quarter profit on November 2, boosted by government programs.
The company earned $301.6 million, or $1.78 per share, up from profit of $183 million, or $1.09 per share, a year prior. Revenue jumped 8 percent to $7.72 billion from $7.15 billion, AP reported. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of $1.77 per share on $7.82 billion in revenue.
Pretax income in its government segment that includes its Medicare business soared 75 percent to $474.5 million. Membership in its Medicare Advantage plans stood at 1.51 million at Sept 30, up 11 percent from a year ago, according to Reuters. Humana posted a pretax loss of $5.2 million for its commercial segment including health plans serving employers, as Americans losing their job also lost health coverage. Higher costs from the H1N1 flu also hurt results.
The company also gave an initial 2010 forecast in which the health insurer projects "substantial" Medicare Advantage membership growth, resulting in revenue of $32 billion to $34 billion, well above analysts' average estimate of $29.63 billion, according to Thomson Reuters, The wall Street Journal wrote. But it sees earnings of $5.05 to $5.25 a share, lower than the average of $5.35.
The same source reported that President and Chief Executive Michael B. McCallister said the results reflected continuing solid performance in its government businesses, offsetting continuing challenged in Humana's commercial segment, which the company next year expects to cut costs at.
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