Pharmacy-benefit manager Express Scripts Holding Co. reported better-than-expected adjusted earnings after the close, and upped its forecast for the year, but the company also is losing its chief financial officer for reasons unknown.
The St. Louis-based firm said CFO Jeffrey Hall will step down effective Tuesday, though he will remain with the company in a different role to help with the transition. Matthew Harper plans to serve as Express Scripts’ ESRX +0.22% interim CFO until a successor can be named.
Shares were down 1% during the regular session to $66.93, then dropped another percentage point in recent after-hours trades to $66.25.
Express Scripts said net income was $543 million, or 66 cents a share for the second quarter, more than triple the $149.6 million, or 18 cents a share, reported a year ago. Express Scripts said the advent of President Obama’s health-care overhaul should benefit its business as pharmacies try to manage costs and deal with the complexities of the law.
“As expected, earnings for a large client were realized in the second quarter due to the structure of the contract,” the company said in a press release. “The company anticipates this pattern of earnings to continue for the foreseeable future.”
Revenue was $26.4 billion against last year’s $27.5 billion. Adjusted earnings were $1.12 a share, two pennies ahead of forecasts from analysts polled by FactSet. Sales came in ahead of the $25.5 billion estimate. The company said adjusted earnings for the third quarter are expected to be $1.05 to $1.09 a share; the FactSet prediction calls for $1.08. Express Scripts did increase its full-year adjusted earnings forecast to a range of $4.26 to $4.34, up from $4.23 to $4.33, still in line with the FactSet estimate of $4.29.
Date: July 29, 2013