Express Scripts Holding Co. will give investors and analysts a taste of what its results will be like as the largest pharmacy benefits manager by far when it reports second-quarter earnings Tuesday after markets close.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Express Scripts, based in St. Louis, closed its $29.1 billion acquisition of fellow pharmacy benefits manager, Medco Health Solutions in early April. The deal, which was announced last summer, created a company big enough to handle the prescriptions of about 135 million people, or more than one in three Americans.
This will be the first quarter in which Express Scripts counts Medco contributions in its performance.
Express Scripts also announced last month that it will start working again with Walgreen Co., the nation's largest drugstore chain. The companies had stopped doing business at the end of last year after they couldn't agree to a new contract.
They declined to elaborate on terms of their new deal, which starts Sept. 15.
That agreement could serve as a positive for Express Scripts heading into 2013, Citi analyst George Hill said in a research note.
"Investors will be focused on Express Scripts' outlook for the remainder of the year given the various moving parts of its business," Hill wrote.
Hill also noted that second-quarter enrollment slid for Express Scripts' largest client, the health insurer WellPoint Inc., and that could affect the company's results.
Generic drugs also may affect Express Scripts numbers. Medicines like the cholesterol fighter Lipitor and the blood thinner Plavix have lost U.S. patent protection within the past year. Generic drugs can help profit margins but tend to hurt revenue because they cost less than brand-name products.
Express Scripts will report its earnings Tuesday after markets close and then hold a conference call with analysts Wednesday morning.
WHY IT MATTERS: Pharmacy benefits managers run prescription drug plans for employers, insurers and other customers. They process mail-order prescriptions and handle bills for prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies. They use large purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices and make money by reducing costs for health plan sponsors and members.
WHAT'S EXPECTED: Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect, on average, earnings of 82 cents per share on $26.58 billion in revenue.
LAST YEAR'S QUARTER: Express Scripts earnings climbed 15 percent to $334.2 million, or 66 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2011, while revenue inched up 1 percent to $11.36 billion. The company's adjusted prescriptions, a figure that combines mail-order and retail prescriptions, fell 2 percent.
Express Scripts said a drop in pharmaceutical use and membership declines for insurers hurt its results.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/earnings-preview-express-scripts-reports-2q-151007511--finance.html
Megan Rossee Marvin Hamlisch grenada grenada ufc Aliya Mustafina Kirk Urso
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.