LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - US health insurer UnitedHealth Group reported its quarterly earnings on Tuesday pre-market, comfortably beating analyst estimates as annual revenue grew by 18%.
The largest healthcare company in the United States reported net income of $1.9bn, or $1.96 per share on revenue of $47.5bn.

Excluding special items, earnings per share were $2.11, ahead of analyst estimates of $2.07, while revenue was higher than forecasts of $47.26bn.

"We are privileged today to serve more people in more ways than ever before, and we know further growth in 2017 and beyond rests on continuing to drive ever higher quality and increasing value to consumers, care providers and customers across our spectrum of businesses," said UnitedHealth chief executive officer Stephen Hemsley.

Continued growth from the company's Optum delivery business drove the strong figures following the announcement that it would be acquiring Surgical Care Affiliates for about $2.3bn.

The company's share price was trading 0.71% higher pre-market following the release of the results.

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