Aetna 4Q profit drops but meets forecasts, guidance climbs

Aetna's fourth-quarter earnings slid 37 percent as the health insurer spent more to grow its business, but its performance matched expectations, and the company raised its forecast for the year.

The Hartford, Conn., company said Tuesday that it now expects full-year operating earnings of at least $7 per share, up from its previous forecast for at least $6.90 per share.

Analysts forecast, on average, earnings of $7.14 per share, according to the data firm FactSet.

In the fourth quarter, Aetna earned $232 million, or 65 cents per share. That compares with $368.9 million, or $1 per share, in the final quarter of 2013.

Operating earnings for the most recent quarter totaled $1.22 per share.

That matched the average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research.

Operating revenue, which excludes investment gains and losses, rose 13 percent to about $14.8 billion.

Analysts expected $14.55 billion.

The nation's third-largest insurer saw operating expenses jump 22 percent to $3.07 billion in the quarter, as it spent more to build its consumer and government businesses and paid fees tied to the health care overhaul.

Aetna's revenue also climbed in part because of fees and taxes from the law, which aims to expand coverage millions of uninsured people.

Aetna shares closed at $92.22 on Monday and have climbed nearly 4 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has declined roughly 2 percent. The stock climbed nearly 30 percent in 2014.