Cigna beats profit and revenue expectations, as pharmacy growth offsets decline in premiums

Cigna Corp. reported Thursday third-quarter profit and total revenue that rose above expectations, as a rise in pharmacy revenue offset a decline in premiums. The health insurer's stock was indicated down fractionally in premarket trading. Net income climbed to $2.76 billion, or $8.97 a share, from $1.62 billion, or $4.80 a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, adjusted earnings per share rose to $6.04 from $5.73, and beat the FactSet consensus of $5.72. Total revenue grew 2.2% to $45.28 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $44.99 billion. Pharmacy revenue increased 5.6% to $32.76 billion, to beat the FactSet consensus of $31.46 billion, while premiums fell 6.7% to $9.59 billion to miss expectations of $9.87 billion. Total customer relationships rose 6.1% to 192.45 million, as pharmacy customers grew 4.9% to 108.69 million. The stock has run up 18.1% over the past three months while the S&P 500 has shed 9.5%.

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