Anthem 4Q Earnings Increase on Membership Growth

By Matt Grossman

Anthem Inc. Wednesday recorded a rise in earnings year over year in the last three months of 2021, with the company posting gains in premium revenue as Medicaid, Medicare and commercial membership all grew.

The health insurer posted earnings of $4.63 a share, up from $2.19 a share a year earlier. Net income rose to $1.14 billion, from $551 million.

Stripping out one-time items, Anthem's adjusted earnings were $5.14 a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings of $5.11 a share.

Revenue grew to $36.58 billion, from $31.82 billion in 2020's fourth quarter. Analysts were forecasting revenue of $36.5 billion.

Premiums were up 14% year over year at $30.77 billion.

Medical enrollment was 45.4 million as of the end of the quarter, up by 5.7% year over year. Anthem said that higher membership across commercial and government-benefits-based plans drove stronger operating revenue.

The benefit expense ratio, a measure of the proportion of premiums paid out in healthcare costs, was 89.5% up by 0.6 percentage points from the third quarter.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 26, 2022 06:30 ET (11:30 GMT)

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