(Reuters) -Centene Corp beat Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter revenue on Tuesday, on the back of higher premiums in its commercial insurance business.
The health insurer’s quarterly profit, however, only narrowly beat estimates as medical costs edged above expectations.
Larger peer Humana last month warned of an “unprecedented” rise in medical costs to hit its earnings this year and the next, while others such as UnitedHealth and Elevance said their expenses were tracking prior expectations so far.
Centene had said at an investor conference last month that although Medicare utilization was running at elevated levels, it was consistent with expectations and planned for in the outlook.
The company’s quarterly medical loss ratio, or the percentage of premiums paid out for medical services, was 89.5%, compared with LSEG estimate of 89.49%.
On an adjusted basis, Centene earned 45 cents per share in the quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of 44 cents, according to LSEG data.
Centene posted quarterly revenue of $39.46 billion, above analysts’ estimates of $36.14 billion.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny and Vaibhav Sadhamta in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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