On Thursday, Shares of Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET), gained 3.37% to $114.88.
Aetna, declared third-quarter 2015 operating earnings of $668.6 million, or $1.90 per share, a per-share improvement of 6 percent over the third quarter of 2014. Net income for the third quarter of 2015 was $560.1 million, or $1.59 per share. Net income for the third quarter of 2015 comprises $0.31 per share of charges.
Total company results
- Operating earnings were $668.6 million for the third quarter of 2015 contrast with $638.6 million for the third quarter of 2014. The improvement in operating earnings is primarily due to higher underwriting margins in Aetna’s Health Care segment, partially offset by an improvement in general and administrative expenses and lower underwriting margins in Aetna’s Group Insurance segment.
- Net income was $560.1 million for the third quarter of 2015 contrast with $594.5 million for the third quarter of 2014. Net income in both periods reflects net charges, which are detailed in the Summary of Results table.
- Operating revenues were $15.0 billion for the third quarter of 2015 contrast with $14.7 billion for the third quarter of 2014. The improvement in operating revenues is primarily the result of higher Health Care premium yields in addition to membership growth in Aetna’s Government business partially offset by membership losses in Aetna’s group Commercial Insured products. Total revenue was $15.0 billion and $14.7 billion for the third quarters of 2015 and 2014, respectively.
- Operating expenses were $2.8 billion for the third quarter of 2015. The operating expense ratio was 18.6 percent and 18.2 percent for the third quarters of 2015 and 2014, respectively. The improvement in the operating expense ratio is primarily the result of raised investment spend to support Aetna’s growth initiatives that outpaced the improvement in operating revenue described above. The total company expense ratio was 18.9 percent and 18.4 percent for the third quarters of 2015 and 2014, respectively.
- Pretax operating margin was 8.4 percent for the third quarter of 2015 contrast with 7.8 percent for the third quarter of 2014. The pretax operating margin raised primarily as a result of higher underwriting margins in Aetna’s Government business. The after-tax net income margin was 3.7 percent and 4.0 percent for the third quarters of 2015 and 2014, respectively.
- Effective tax rate was 45.0 percent for the third quarter of 2015 contrast with 39.9 percent for the third quarter of 2014. The improvement in the effective tax rate reflects the impact of health care reform, primarily from the 2015 improvement in the non-deductible health insurer fee.
Aetna Inc. is a diversified health care benefits company. The Company offers a range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services. The Company’s operations are conducted in three business segments: Health Care, Group Insurance and Large Case Pensions. The Company’s Health Care segment comprises medical, pharmacy benefit administration services, dental, behavioral health and vision plans.
Shares of Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO), inclined 0.15% to $61.53, during its last trading session.
Altria Group, declared its 2015 third-quarter and nine-month business results and reaffirmed its guidance for 2015 full-year adjusted diluted EPS.
“Altria continued to deliver outstanding performance in the third quarter and for the first nine months. Once again, our businesses strengthened their market leadership, with strong income growth and solid retail share gains by the iconic Marlboro and Copenhagen brands,” said Marty Barrington, Altria’s Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President. “We believe our year-to-date adjusted EPS growth of 11.5% positions us well to deliver on our full-year plans. In addition, we’re happy Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller continue to work together to finalize terms in advance of their possible combination. We see this transaction, and our participation in it as SABMiller’s largest shareholder, as a compelling opportunity to strengthen for our shareholders our position in the global brewing business.”
Altria Group, Inc. is a holding company. The Company’s reportable segments comprise smokeable products, smokeless products and wine. As of December 31, 2014, Altria Group, Inc.’s wholly owned auxiliaries comprised Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes in the United States; John Middleton Co. (Middleton), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco, and is a wholly owned partner of PM USA, and UST LLC (UST), which through its wholly owned auxiliaries, counting U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (USSTC) and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. (Ste. Michelle) is engaged in the manufacture and sale of smokeless products and wine.
Finally, Shares of Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (NASDAQ:PPC), ended its last trade with -4.18% loss, and closed at $18.57.
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, reports third quarter 2015 financial results with Net Sales of $2.11 billion for the thirteen week period, contrast to $2.27 billion for the same period in 2014. The 2015 Q3 Net Income was $137.1 million contrast to the $256.0 million stated in the same period in 2014. Adjusted Earnings Per Share was $0.58 in the third quarter of 2015 contrast to $1.01 in the same period last year, while adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”) was $274.3 million, or a 13.0% margin.
“The continued challenges in the export markets, the strong dollar and the lowest chicken cutout in the past five years during Q3 have had an impact on the commodity segments of our business, and on our U.S. export and Mexico sales. Additionally, non-routine costs at two of our facilities further weighed on our results. Despite these challenges, our team has managed to produce solid margins contrast to periods when prices were at similar levels,” stated Bill Lovette, Chief Executive Officer of Pilgrim’s.
“The Q3 results are a strong validation of our portfolio model, and the strategy we have pursued and implemented over the past four years is fundamental in improving our ability to maintain strong performance, minimize the impact of different market conditions, and give us more consistent financial results. Although we expect export markets to gradually reopen soon depending on the domestic AI situation, we choose not to stand still and be complacent. Instead, we continue to seek alternative and creative ways to reduce our dependencies on commodity products to produce more consistent margins by sharpening our focus on high growth markets. We also remain on track to extract $200 million in operational improvements for the year.”
Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation (Pilgrim’s) is a producer of Chicken products. The Company is a producer and seller of chicken products with operations in the United States, Mexico and Puerto Rico. The Company is engaged in the production, processing, marketing and distribution of fresh, frozen and value-added chicken products to retailers, distributors and foodservice operators. Its fresh chicken products comprise refrigerated (non-frozen) whole chickens, whole cut-up chickens and selected chicken parts that are either marinated or non-marinated.