Updated at 9:15 a.m. EST
UnitedHealth Corporation (UNH) – Get a free report posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings on Friday, supported again by double digits revenue profit from the Optum division and confirmed its full-year profit forecast.
UnitedHealth said adjusted profit for the three months ended September was $5.34 a share, up 19% year-over-year and 17 cents higher than Wall Street’s consensus forecast.
The group’s revenue, UnitedHealth said, rose 12.3% to $82.8 billion, again topping analysts’ estimates of $82.6 billion, while Optum’s revenue rose 16.5% to $47.9 billion.
Meanwhile, UnitedHealth’s medical expense ratio pegged nearly 100 basis points lower at 82.8%, indicating a small fraction of its collected premiums have been paid for claims. .
“We expect the efforts of everyone within the company that led to strong performance in 2022 will also define 2023, particularly delivering balanced growth across the business, improving support for consumers and care providers, and investing in making high-quality care simpler, said CEO Andrew Witty: more accessible and affordable affordable for everyone.
Shares of UnitedHealth, a Dow component, were marked 1.1% lower in pre-opening trading shortly after the earnings release to indicate an opening price of $490.25 per share. promissory note.
Late last year, Witty told investors that while the pressure of Covid on the group’s business was easing, inflationary Pressures, capacity constraints and tight labor markets have affected “different parts of the (healthcare) system at different times.
“So I think this whole thing actually gets more complicated in some ways because there’s more of an impact on what you need to think about going forward,” Witty said, as the team lowered its forecast. 2023 adjusted profit from $24.40 to $24.90 per month. share, with regional grosses ranging from $357 billion to $360 billion.
