By Will Feuer

Elevance Health issued upbeat adjusted earnings guidance for the current year after it reported revenue growth for the fourth quarter, powered higher by contributions from its Carelon unit.

The health insurer and healthcare-services provider, formerly known as Anthem, posted a profit of $856 million, or $3.63 a share, compared with $865 million, or $3.59 a share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Stripping out one-time items, including losses on financial instruments and amortization, adjusted earnings were $5.62 a share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected $5.60 a share.

Revenue rose about 7% to $42.45 billion, topping the $42.19 billion that analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.

Sales were boosted by higher premium revenue from the health-benefits business and higher pharmacy-product revenue from CarelonRx, lifted in part by the company's acquisition of the BioPlus specialty pharmacy in 2023.

Revenue from the company's health-benefits unit rose more than 4% while its Carelon unit posted revenue gains of 14%.

For 2024, Elevance is targeting adjusted earnings of more than $37.10 a share, above the $37.03 a share that analysts expect. The company is forecasting flat to low-single digit percentage growth in operating revenue.

Write to Will Feuer at Will.Feuer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 24, 2024 06:32 ET (11:32 GMT)

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