UnitedHealth Easily Surpasses Earnings Estimates

Earnings Scorecard
Actual	Estimated*	Year-Ago
$0.58	$0.55	$0.44

UnitedHealth (UNH Quote) posted fourth-quarter earnings that surpassed analysts' expectations by 3 cents, reflecting strong overall growth.

The Minneapolis-based managed health care company, the nation's second-largest health insurer, earned $193 million, or 58 cents a share, up from $152 million, or 44 cents a share, in the same period last year. According to First Call/Thomson Financial, 20 analysts expected fourth-quarter earnings of 55 cents a share.

Revenue for the quarter was $5.43 billion, up from $4.99 billion a year ago, with premium revenue growing to $4.8 billion from $4.45 billion. The company also said it added 2.1 million customers in its Uniprise and UnitedHealthcare segments in the 12 months ended Jan. 31.

Shares of the company closed at $56.74 in Thursday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.