WellPoint Q4 Adj. Profit Tops View - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Health insurer WellPoint, Inc. (WLP) posted fourth-quarter net income was $506.7 million, up from $148.2 million in the comparable quarter last year. Earnings per share for the latest fourth quarter rose to $1.80 from $0.49 last year.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the recent quarter rose to $487.2 million or $1.73 per share from $261.0 million or $0.87 per share in the prior year period. On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings per share of $1.72 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Quarterly total revenues reached $18.98 billion, a 6.0% increase, compared with the year-ago figure of $17.90 billion, with total operating revenue growing 6.4% year-over-year to $18.78 billion, from $17.65 billion. Seventeen analysts estimated $19.01 billion in revenues for the period.

For full year 2015, the company expects net income to be greater than $9.30 per share, including greater than $0.40 per share of amortization of other intangible assets. Excluding this item, adjusted net income is expected to be greater than $9.70 per share. The company expects operating revenue to be in the range of $78.0 billion to $78.5 billion.

Analysts now project annual earnings of $9.45 per share on revenues of $79.49 billion for full year 2015.

On January 27, 2015, the Board of Directors declared a first quarter 2015 dividend to shareholders of $0.625 per share, payable on March 25, 2015, to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 10, 2015.