Humana profit beats estimates on strength in govt-backed insurance

(Reuters) -Humana Inc beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday on strength in its government-backed insurance business for older adults.

The company, whose largest business is providing government-supported insurance including Medicare Advantage, saw a decline in its benefit expense ratio, or the percentage of payout on claims compared to its premiums, by 1 percentage point to 87.5% for the fourth quarter.

This was, however, higher than analysts' expectations of 87.20%.

Excluding one-off items, the health insurer reported a profit of $1.62 per share, higher than analysts' average estimate of $1.46 per share.

The company forecast adjusted profit of at least $28 per share for 2023, in line with analysts' expectations.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in BengaluruEditing by Vinay Dwivedi)