Aetna Q4 Profit Drops, Revenue Climbs; Lifts Full Year EPS View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Diversified healthcare benefits company Aetna, Inc. (AET) Tuesday said fourth-quarter net income fell to $232.0 million from $368.9 million reported last year. Earnings per share dropped to $0.65 from $1.00. The latest results include $0.57 per share of charges.

Operating earnings per share were $1.22, while it totaled $1.45 last year. On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.22 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue climbed 12 percent to $14.77 billion from last year's $13.18 billion. Analysts expected revenues of $14.60 billion.

Total benefits and expenses increased to $14.343 billion from $12.647 billion. Medical membership totaled approximately 23.5 million at December 31, 2014, up 6 percent over year-end 2013.

Looking ahead, Mark Bertolini, Aetna chairman and CEO, said, "Our strong finish to 2014 combined with our early momentum in 2015 give us the confidence to increase our 2015 projection for operating earnings per share to at least $7.00 from our previous projection of at least $6.90."

Analysts expect earnings of $7.16 per share for the year.