REUTERS: CVS Health Corp posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, boosted by its pharmacy benefit management unit and the Aetna health insurance business it acquired last year.
Shares of the company rose 3per cent in premarket trading after the company also raised its 2019 adjusted profit forecast range to US$6.97 to US$7.05 per share, from US$6.89 to US$7.00.Sales in the company's pharmacy services unit increased 6.4per cent to US$36.02 billion in the third quarter, helped by a rise in prices of branded drugs and increased claims.
The company, which also runs drugstores, closed its US$69 billion purchase of Aetna in November 2018. Sales in its health care benefits business, which houses Aetna, soared to US$17.18 billion, helped by lower-than-expected medical costs. The unit reported a medical benefit ratio of 83.3per cent, compared with estimates of 84.3per cent according to four analysts polled by Refinitiv.
CVS Health's net profit rose 10.1per cent to US$1.53 billion, or US$1.17 per share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30.Excluding items, the company earned US$1.84 per share, above analysts' estimates of US$1.77.
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