Bloomfield health insurer Cigna on Thursday said its second-quarter profits jumped 75 percent thanks to its growing pharmacy benefits unit and commercial health plans.
For the quarter ended June 30, Cigna posted net income of $1.4 billion, or $3.70 a diluted share, up from $806 million, or $3.29 per share, in the second quarter of 2018.
Revenues in the April-June period more than tripled to $38.8 billion due in part to its $67 billion acquisition of St. Louis-based pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts, which allows Cigna’s customers to access new pharmacy benefit services.
That drove Cigna’s pharmacy revenues up from $8.7 million to $75.1 million, and its pharmacy customer case, meantime, climbed by 1.9 million customers to 17 million.
Adjusted earnings per share increased to $4.30, beating FactSet’s estimates of $3.74 a share for the quarter.
Cigna’s share price of $172.50 was up 1.5 percent Thursday as of 9 a.m.
Cigna also raised its full-year profit forecast to a range of $16.60 to $16.90, which represents a 17 percent to 19 percent increase compared to 2018. The insurer also upped its revenue forecasts to a range of $136 billion to $137 billion.
“As Cigna accelerates our focus on whole person health, our strong second quarter results reflect the value we deliver to customers and clients, and our consistent execution in a dynamic environment,” said Cigna CEO and President David M. Cordani.
