Magellan Health Services’ 4th-quarter profit jumps on higher revenue, boost from Medicaid

Magellan Health 4Q profit jumps on revenue

AVON, Conn. — Health care outsourcing company Magellan Health Services Inc. said Friday its fourth-quarter profit jumped on higher revenue, mainly from Medicaid.

Magellan said net income rose 85 percent to $43.8 million, or $1.25 per share, from $25.6 million, or 61 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 9 percent to $718.9 million from $661.8 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected profit of $1.04 per share on revenue of $699.7 million.

For the full year, the company had net income $106.7 million, or $3.01 per share, up from $86.2 million, or $2.16 per share, in 2008. Revenue rose to $2.64 billion from $2.63 billion.

Looking ahead, the company said it expects profit between $2.73 and $3.29 per share on revenue between $3 billion and $3.2 billion in 2010. Analysts expect profit of $3.05 per share on revenue of $3.05 billion.