Express Scripts Q3 Profit Rises, Meets View

(RTTNews) - Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co. (ESRX) reported Tuesday a profit for the third quarter that grew from last year, reflecting lower provision for income taxes and a decline in expenses.

Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations matched analysts' expectations, ehile quarterly revenues topped their estimates. The company also provided earnings guidance for the fourth quarter, in line with Street view, and narrowed earnings outlook range for the full-year 2014.

"We have continually improved the pharmacy benefit over nearly three decades, and we're positioning ourselves to drive further advances. The pharmacy benefit is the most used benefit by members and represents the biggest opportunity to add value to healthcare by making it easier to access, more affordable, safer, and more effective," Chairman and CEO George Paz said in a statement.

St. Louis, Missouri-based Express Scripts' reported net income of $582.3 million or $0.78 per share for the third quarter, higher than $426.7 million or $0.52 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations for the quarter was $1.29 per share, compared to $1.08 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $1.29 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenues for the quarter edged down to $25.78 billion from $25.92 billion in the same quarter last year, but topped sixteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $24.93 billion.

Total claims volume decreased to 264.4 million from last year's 291.5 million. Total adjusted claims volume declined 8 percent to 328.3 million from 358.1 million last year. Excluding UnitedHealth Group, claims volume declined 4 percent.

Generic fill rate for the quarter expanded 230 basis points to 83.1 percent from last year's 80.8 percent.

Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, Express Scripts expects adjusted earnings in a range of $1.36 to $1.40 per share, while analysts expect $1.38 per share.

For fiscal 2014, the company narrowed its adjusted earnings guidance to a range of $4.86 to $4.90 per share from the prior forecast range of $4.84 to $4.92 per share, which maintains the mid-point of $4.88. Street is currently looking for full-year 2014 earnings of $4.88 per share.

"Looking forward, we are allocating the necessary resources to develop innovative solutions aimed at controlling costs and providing a patient-centric model that delivers best in class services to our clients and their members," Paz added.

ESRX closed Tuesday's regular trading session at $74.41, up $1.13 or 1.54% on a volume of 3.46 million shares. However, the stock lost $0.46 or 0.62% in after-hours trade.