Medco Health 4Q Net Rises 12% As Revenue Easily Tops Estimates

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Medco Health Solutions Inc.'s (MHS) fourth-quarter earnings rose 12% as the pharmacy-benefits manager booked revenue well beyond expectations thanks to new client wins and higher prices for brand-name drugs.

A flood of popular drugs going generic have been a boon for volumes at the pharmacy benefit manager, though the offerings carry significantly lower price tags than their brand-name peers. Medco on Tuesday said its generic dispensing rate increased 2.5 percentage points to 74.7% in the fourth quarter, a record according to the company.

PBMs handle prescription-drug benefits and claims for employers and health-insurer clients and also run mail-order pharmacies.

The company reported a profit of $424.4 million, or $1.08 a share, up from a year-earlier profit of $378.5 million, or 88 cents a share. Stripping out merger costs and other items, per-share earnings rose to $1.25 from 99 cents a year ago.

Total net revenue rose 12% to $19 billion. Analysts expected earnings of $1.17 a share on revenue of $17.45 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Gross margin narrowed to 6.7% from 6.9%.

Medco last year agreed to sell itself to Express Scripts Inc. (ESRX) in a cash and stock deal valued at roughly $29 billion. As two of the largest players in the industry, the proposed tieup has raised questions among regulators about potential competition issues, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month.

Shares closed Friday at $64.01 and were inactive premarket. The stock has risen 15% since the start of the year.

--By Mia Lamar, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3207; [e-mail]