WellCare Revenues Top $7B as Centene Merger Progresses

The highlight of the quarter for the Tampa-based insurer was shareholder approval of its pending Centene merger.

One week after Centene Corp. produced its Q2 earnings report, WellCare Health Plans posted total revenues north of $7 billion, according to its latest round of earnings.

WellCare also notched a net income of $182.8 million, an increase of more than $30 million compared to Q1 2019, with an adjusted net income of $219 million. 

The Tampa-based insurer was driven by significant growth in its Medicaid plans, which grew from $2.8 billion in Q2 2018 to $4.7 billion in Q2 2019. The company's Medicare segment also increased to $1.8 billion while its Medicare prescription drug plans grew by $59 million. 

The highlight of the quarter for WellCare was shareholder approval of the pending $17.3 billion merger with Centene on June 24.

Related: Earnings Rebound for WellCare in First Report Since Centene Announcement

C-SUITE PERSPECTIVE: 

"Our strong revenue and earnings growth in the quarter was the result of continued strong operational and financial execution by our WellCare associates," Ken Burdick, CEO of WellCare, said in a statement. "We remain focused on delivering on our commitments to our government partners on behalf of our 6.3 million members, while we pursue regulatory approvals for our previously announced merger with Centene."

WellCare reported an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.31, well above its adjusted EPS of $3.69 in Q2 2018. Included in its adjusted EPS was a $2.9 million pre-tax associated with startup costs from its North Carolina Medicaid contract implementation. 

Last year's $2.5 billion purchase of Meridian Health Plan of Michigan again boosted the company's Medicaid membership, which held flat quarter-to-quarter at 4.1 million, but marked an increase of 1.3 million members year-over-year.

Related: Centene-WellCare Merger Hits DOJ Speed Bump

Due to its pending Centene merger, WellCare is once again not providing an updated financial guidance for the rest of 2019.

ADDITIONAL WELLCARE Q2 EARNINGS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• The company's Medicare prescription drug plans membership held steady at 1.6 million, a year-over-year increase of nearly than 600,000 members.
• That same segment attributed its membership and revenue growth to enhanced product offerings in 2019.
• By the end of Q2, WellCare had $249.4 million in unregulated cash and investments, down from $514.8 million in Q2 2018.

For complete financial information, review WellCare's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.