(Reuters) – Centene beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit on Friday, as strength in its commercial insurance business outweighed the impact of high costs related to its government-backed Medicaid plans for low-income people.
Shares of the health insurer rose 9.17% to $67.60 in premarket trading.
The company reported a medical loss ratio — the percentage of premiums spent on medical care — of 89.2% for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts’ estimate of 88.03%, according to data compiled by LSEG.
On an adjusted basis, the health insurer earned $1.62 per share, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $1.33 per share.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York City, Sriparna Roy and Unnamalai L in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shinjini Ganguli)
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