CIGNA Tops Q1 Views

reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the first quarter on Thursday. The Bloomfield, Connecticut-based company reported quarterly net income of $533 million, or $2.04 per share, up from $528 million or $1.92 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding items, the company earned $1.96 per share. Its consolidated revenue climbed 11 percent to $9.5 billion, operating revenue climbed to $9.39 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $1.84 per share on revenue of $9.28 billion. The average estimate among 6 Estimize users was for earnings of $1.91 per share and revenue of $9.11 billion. Premiums and fees in the company's global health care division climbed 12 percent to $6.73 billion, while the number of customers rose 4 percent to 14.7 million in the quarter. During the period from February 5, 2015 through April 29, 2015, CIGNA repurchased around 3.2 million shares of stock for around $400 million. At March 31, 2015, cash and short term investments at the parent company totaled $1.3 billion, versus around $400 million at December 31, 2014. "Cigna continues to deliver differentiated, personalized and affordable solutions, creating value for our customers and clients," said David M. Cordani, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue our focus on delivering innovative products and services centered around unique local market needs, driving growth in new and existing markets." For the full year, Cigna projects earnings of $8.15 to $8.50 per share on revenue growth of 8 percent to 10 percent. Cigna shares gained 1.40 percent to $128.45 in pre-market trading.