Excluding items, Anthem earned $3.10 per share, well above the average analyst estimate of $2.77. Anthem has benefited from enrollment growth and improved medical cost performance lately.
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The company cited strong growth in its government Medicaid and Medicare businesses, where revenue rose 25.7 percent, helped by an 11 percent rise in Medicaid membership. Over time, these people had been seen as a large opportunity for the health-insurance industry, as their government coverage is transitioned to managed-care companies.
That topped analyst expectations for $19.66 billion. The insurer has reduced its expectation for the third program, risk corridors, and expects to be “net neutral” on it for last year and 2015.
Its total revenue surged 8.3 percent to $20.02 billion, while operating revenue surged 8.4 percent to around $19.8 billion.
“We are pleased to report solid second quarter 2015 results as we make progress towards driving greater health care access, affordability and choice”.
Analysts expected full-year earnings of US$10.11 per share, reported by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The deal, combining the second- and fifth-largest health insurers by revenue, would create a company with a huge footprint in commercial insurance, the type of coverage provided to employers and consumers.
The Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier now expects 2015 adjusted earnings to top $10 per share, up from a previous forecast for earnings of greater than $9.90 per share.
The Indianapolis, Indiana-based company posted quarterly net income of $859.1 million, or $3.13 per share, compared to $731.1 million, or $2.56 per share, in the year-ago quarter.
The commercial and specialty business enrollment – referring mostly to businesses that self-fund their medical expenses – increased by 237,000.
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Anthem’s consolidated benefit ratio, a measure comparing how much it spends on medical claims with the premiums it brings in, improved to 82.1 percent in the quarter from 82.7 percent a year ago.
