=CIGNA (CI) reported Q1 earnings on Fri 6 May 2016 (b/o)

CIGNA beats by $0.17, reports revs in-line; raisesFY16 EPS in-line :

• Reports Q1 (Mar) earnings of $2.32 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.17 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.15; revenues rose 4.4% year/year to $9.88 bln vs the $9.96 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues raised guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $8.95-9.35 from $8.85-9.25 vs. $9.20 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of mid single digits growth (cons +5.7% YoY) vs. $39.97 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Cigna's medical customer base grew by 130,000 in first quarter 2016 to a total of 15.1 million customers, driven by organic growth in our Middle Market, Medicare Advantage and Select segments. The Total Government MCR8 of 86.2% for first quarter 2016 reflects the ongoing strong performance in our Medicare Advantage business as well as improved medical costs in our Medicare Part D business.