Bloomfield health insurer Cigna Corp. saw its fourth quarter earnings fall 37 percent, missing Wall Street expectations as acquisition and higher than expected medical costs squeezed the company’s bottom line, The Associated Press reports.
The company’s earnings for the quarter ending Dec. 31 reached $290 million, or $1.04 per share, compared to $461 million, or $1.69 per share, in the year ago period. Revenue climbed less than 1 percent to $5.46 billion.
During the quarter Cigna recorded a $28-million charge related to its acquisition of insurer HealthSpring Inc., a $3.8-billion deal it completed on Tuesday.
Adjusted earnings, which exclude most one-time items, were $1.11 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected, on average, earnings of $1.19 per share on $5.5 billion in revenue.
For the full year, Cigna earned $1.33 billion or $4.84 a share, compared to $1.35 billion or $4.89 a share in 2010.
Cigna expects HealthSpring to contribute to its 2012 performance, with projected earnings expected to be between $5 and $5.40 per share.
That outlook is well below the analysts’ consensus of $5.68 per share.
Cigna shares fell $2.61, or 5.7 percent, to $43.08 in morning trading.
