VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – (April 28, 2011) Clearlease Reports Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET ) said Thursday April 28, 2011 that its 1Q profit rose 4 per cent, as it became the fourth big health insurer in the past week to report better-than-expected earnings and raise its 2011 profit forecast.
The Hartford, Conn., company said health care costs fell and it recorded a $174 million gain in the quarter because claims left over from previous quarters came in below expectations due to lower-than-projected care use.
Several health insurers have said slower-than-expected growth in health care use — caused in part by bad weather — has helped them in recent quarters. Aetna is the third largest commercial health insurer behind WellPoint and UnitedHealth. Both of those companies and Humana Inc. have already reported first-quarter results that topped Wall Street expectations and raised their 2011 earnings forecasts.
Managed care companies had set a high bar for first-quarter earnings and guidance increases, but Aetna ‘s results exceed “even our recently heightened expectations,” Leerink Swann analyst Jason Gurda said in a research note.
The company’s shares jumped more than 8 per cent, or $3.34, in premarket trading to $43.15.
Aetna earned $586 million, or $1.50 per share, in the three months that ended March 31. That’s up from $562.6 million, or $1.28 per share, a year ago. Revenue fell 3 per cent to $8.39 billion, as enrolment dropped 5 per cent.
Adjusted earnings, which exclude one-time items, were $1.43 per share.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet forecast, on average, earnings of 96 cents per share on $8.32 billion in revenue. They normally exclude one-time items from their estimates.
The insurer said it now expects full-year adjusted earnings to range between $4.20 and $4.30 per share, a big jump from its forecast in February of between $3.70 and $3.80 per share. That was much higher than analysts were expecting at the time. Analysts now expect $3.73 per share.
Aetna said health care costs, which are essentially the amount it pays in medical claims, fell 6 per cent in the first quarter to $5.35 billion.
Health insurance is Aetna ‘s main product, but the company also sells dental, group life and disability coverage.
It said medical membership fell to 17.8 million people from 18.7 million in last year’s first quarter, as it saw losses mainly in its commercial business, which includes employer-sponsored group coverage and individual plans. That led to a 2 per cent drop in health care premiums, the largest portion of Aetna ‘s revenue.
The insurer also said Thursday it will spend about $600 million to buy Prodigy Health Group, a privately held company that administers self-funded health plans for companies with between 100 and 5,000 employees. In self-funded plans, the employer pays the claims and assumes the risk.
The New York-based company operates in 15 states and has about 600,000 medical members.
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About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease / Clearlease.com ) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending / Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.
Headquartered in Downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. We’re expanding in Q2, 2011 to Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta! In Q3, 2011 we are expanding in Toronto, Ontario! Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease services clients from Coast to Coast. Our Residential Group has a team of Licensed Mortgage Brokers offering our clients the best terms and rates available in the current market. Our Commercial Funding/Mortgage Group is active across Canada Funding Mortgages in cities such as Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria.
You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.
Contact:
Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900,
555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
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Twitter: @clearlease
Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfX_T9BpIug
For more information please visit us at: http://www.clearlease.com/Career-Opportunities.html
About Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease Commercial (DLC Clearlease/Clearlease.com) is a fully diversified Lease Finance Mortgage Banking Brokerage Company specializing in Equipment Leasing, Automobile Leasing, Residential, Commercial Lending/Mortgage Financing. DLC Clearlease possesses the capability to accommodate financing needs ranging from a small second Home Mortgage to a Multi-Million Dollar Commercial Projects. No mortgage is too small or too large for this integrated Company.
Equipment Lease Financing in Vancouver, Surrey, Delta, Richmond, Langley, New Westminster, North Vancouer, West Vancouver, B.C. Also offering Automobile Lease Financing and Mortgage information. Founded by the Pidgeon brothers.
You may have recently seen a Dominion Lending advertisement on such media outlets as: Global News, CTV News, CBC Television, Rogers Sportsnet or possibly heard the great Don Cherry, a Canadian Sports legend, discuss Dominion Lending Centres.
Contact DLC Clearlease.com:
Dominion Lending Centres Clearlease
HEAD OFFICE, Bentall Two, Suite 900, 555 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC, V7X 1M8, CANADA.
Mr. A. Pidgeon, Editor in Chief
Tel: (604) 696-1221 ext. 177
eMail: [email protected]
Website: http://www.clearlease.com
News: http://clearlease.com/category/equipment-lease-blog/feed/rss
Twitter: @clearlease
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