Bloomfield health insurer Cigna on Thursday said a 49.5 percent jump in its first-quarter profits was fueled in part by its recent $67 billion acquisition of pharmacy-benefits manager Express Scripts.
For the quarter ended March 31, Cigna reported net income of $1.37 billion, or $3.56 a diluted share, up from $915 million, or $3.72, in the same quarter last year.
Net sales soared from $11.4 billion to $37.9 billion, which was mainly driven by the insurer’s spike in pharmacy revenues, which rose from $717 million to $25.1 billion. Cigna credited the growth to its addition of Express Scripts, a St. Louis-based company that now allows Cigna’s customers to access new pharmacy benefits services.
Cigna’s first-quarter revenues and shares both beat Wall Street expectations.
“Our combination with Express Scripts is fueling additional innovative programs for the benefit of our customers and patients, as we accelerate our efforts to improve the affordability of health care,” said Cigna CEO and President David M. Cordani.
Following the earnings release Thursday morning, premarket trading for Cigna shares were up almost 2 percent to $162.83 as of 9 a.m.
Cigna raised its full-year profit forecast to a range of $16.25 to $16.65 per share, and its revenue forecast up to a range of $132.5 billion to $134.5 billion.
While the Express Scripts purchase elevated Cigna’s first-quarter results, interest expenses related to the deal ate into the insurer’s higher revenues in the final quarter of 2018. Cigna in February reported a 45.8 percent decline in fourth-quarter profits.