UnitedHealth Group (UNH) Q1 2024 earnings

UnitedHealth Group reported higher than expected sales First quarter results on Tuesday, regardless that the corporate continues to be coping with the fallout from the cyberattack on its Change Healthcare subsidiary.

This is how the corporate did it:

  • Merits: $7.16 per share adjusted, versus $6.61 analysts expected, LSEG said.
  • Revenue: $100.08 billion adjusted, versus $99.26 billion expected by LSEG.

UnitedHealth reported revenue of $99.80 billion, up from $91.9 billion in the identical period last yr. The adjusted sales figure of $100.08 billion doesn’t have in mind the impact of the cyber attack.

The company said it incurred about $7 billion in costs from selling its Brazil operations in the course of the quarter a publication Tuesday. UnitedHealth said currency effects from the Brazil sale in addition to the negative impact of the cyberattack contributed to a net loss within the period. The company reported a net lack of $1.41 billion, or $1.53 per share, compared with net income of $5.61 billion, or $5.95 per share, a yr earlier.

UnitedHealth reported adjusted earnings of $6.91 per share for the quarter. The company said the adjusted figure excludes sales in Brazil but only takes under consideration a portion of the impact of the cyberattack. The impact of the cyberattack was divided into two categories: “direct response” and “business disruption” costs.

Direct response actions, similar to UnitedHealth's efforts to revive Change Healthcare platforms, had an impact of 49 cents per share within the quarter. Business interruption costs, similar to lost revenue from Change Healthcare, were 25 cents per share. UnitedHealth said its adjusted earnings figures took under consideration the impact of the business disruptions but didn’t have in mind direct response costs. The adjusted EPS figure of $7.16 doesn’t have in mind the complete impact of the cyberattack.

The company said the full impact of the cyberattack was 74 cents per share in the primary quarter and expects the full-year impact to be between $1.15 and $1.35 per share.

UnitedHealth reported a first-quarter medical expense ratio, the quantity of every premium dollar that goes toward medical costs, of 84.3%. This includes 40 basis points of the impact of the cyberattack, the corporate said. According to StreetAccount, analysts expected an MCR of 83.8%. A lower ratio typically indicates higher profitability.

Shares of UnitedHealth rose greater than 5% on Tuesday morning. As of Monday's close, the stock was down about 15% for the yr.

UnitedHealth consists of two major business units: Optum and UnitedHealthcare. According to the corporate, Optum provides a variety of pharmacy services and consulting services and provides healthcare to roughly 103 million consumers website.

Optum reported first-quarter revenue of $61.1 billion, up from $54.1 billion in the identical period last yr. UnitedHealth said Optum's revenue growth was driven primarily by its patient care and pharmacy divisions because the number of individuals served “grew significantly.”

In 2022, Optum accomplished a $13 billion merger with Change Healthcare, which provides payment and revenue cycle management tools. According to the corporate, Change Healthcare processes greater than 15 billion billing transactions annually and one in three patient records passes through its systems.

UnitedHealth announced in February that a cyber threat actor breached a part of Change Healthcare's information technology network, causing the corporate to instantly shut down the affected systems. The impact was widespread across the healthcare sector, with many doctors not capable of fill prescriptions or be paid for his or her services.

The company has been working in recent weeks to bring systems back online, and UnitedHealth said Tuesday that it has paid out greater than $6 billion to health care providers who need assistance.

UnitedHealth said it continues to make “significant progress” in restoring Change Healthcare services.

“I am extremely grateful to our colleagues who are working tirelessly day and night to restore services, unlock funding for providers and protect the overall health care system,” UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty said in the course of the company’s quarterly conference call with investors.

UnitedHealth's other division, UnitedHealthcare, provides insurance coverage and advantages to thousands and thousands of Americans, based on its website. UnitedHealthcare reported first-quarter revenue of $75.4 billion, up from $70.5 billion a yr earlier.

The company said the expansion was driven by a rise within the number of individuals served by UnitedHealthcare within the United States. The total variety of domestic consumers served by the unit grew by 2 million in the primary quarter.

UnitedHealth said it updated its full-year net income outlook and expects to report between $17.60 and $18.20 per share, largely on account of the cyberattack and the Brazil sale.

During the corporate's earnings call, UnitedHealth CFO John Rex said that UnitedHealthcare is “largely back to normal in terms of claims submission activity” following the cyberattack. He said claims are flowing as expected.

The U.S. Department of Justice reportedly opened an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth in late February a report from the Wall Street Journal. The company declined to comment on the matter during its investor call.

image credit : www.cnbc.com