UPDATE: WellPoint Reports 39% Drop In Q4 Profit, Lifts Dividend By 15%
WellPoint Inc (NYSE: WLP) reported a 39% drop in its fourth-quarter earnings and lifted its dividend by 15%.
WellPoint projects full-year 2012 earnings of at least $7.60 on revenue of around $62.1 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $7.75 per share on revenue of $62.76 billion.
WellPoint's quarterly profit fell to $335.3 million, or $0.96 per share, from $548.8 million, or $1.40 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding other items, WellPoint earned $0.99 per share. Its revenue surged 5.5% to $15.18 billion. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $1.12 per share on revenue of $15.41 billion.
WellPoint's operating margin declined to 3.4% from 4.8%. It lifted its quarterly dividend to 28.75 cents from 25 cents.
WellPoint shares fell 4.90% to $66.00 in pre-market trading.
