UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s first-quarter earnings rose 13 percent and trumped Wall Street expectations as the health insurer with operations in Hartford reversed last year’s enrollment losses and benefited from slower increases in health care use, The Associated Press reports.
It also raised its 2011 earnings forecast.
The Minnesota-based insurer said Thursday that it earned $1.34 billion, or $1.22 per share, in the three months that ended March 31. That’s up from $1.19 billion, or $1.03 per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 10 percent to $25.43 billion.
Analysts expected 89 cents per share on $24.97 billion in revenue.
Company shares jumped 7.6 percent, or $3.36, to $47.60 in pre-market trading.
UnitedHealth is the largest publicly traded health insurer based on revenue and the second-largest based on enrollment, trailing only WellPoint Inc. It is the first big health insurer to release its quarterly earnings, and analysts said Thursday its performance bodes well for the rest of the managed care sector.
The company now expects 2011 earnings per share to range between $3.95 and $4.05, a big increase from its previous forecast of $3.50 to $3.70. It also said revenue will approach $101 billion for the year, up from $100 billion.
Analysts have said the old outlook was conservative. They had expected earnings of $3.83 per share.
