Pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Holding Co. (ESRX) reported net income for the first quarter of $373.0 million or $0.45 per share, compared to $267.8 million or $0.55 per share for the year-ago quarter.
For the period the company' outstanding common shares nearly doubled to 832.5 million shares from 489.7 in the same year-ago quarter.
Income from continuing operations for the latest quarter was $379.3 million or $0.45 per share, compared to $270.2 million or $0.55 per share in the prior year quarter.
Excluding items, adjusted earnings from continuing operations for the first quarter were $0.99 per share, compared to $0.73 per share in the first quarter of the prior year.
Meanwhile, revenue for the first quarter rose to $26.06 billion from $12.13 billion in the same quarter last year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.97 per share on revenue of $25.55 billion for the current quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Looking forward, the company raised its forecast for adjusted earnings from continuing operations for 2013 to $4.23 to $4.33 per share from its prior estimate of $4.20 to $4.30 per share. Analysts currently expect the company to earn $4.26 per share for the full-year 2013.
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