Triple-S 4Q profit rises with membership

(AP) — Triple-S Management Corp., Puerto Rico's largest managed-care company, reported on Tuesday that its profit grew in the fourth quarter as membership grew in its health plans and it recorded some one-time items.

The company said it earned $28.1 million, or 96 cents per share, for the quarter. That compares with $2 million, or 6 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding the impact of one-time items including investments and derivatives, the company earned $24.4 million, or 83 cents a share, for the quarter. That compares with $21.3 million, or 66 cents per share, in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who typically exclude one-time items, expected the company to earn 75 cents per share.

The company said its quarterly revenue climbed from $437.1 million to $516.9 million.

Triple-S said its membership grew in part because of a recent acquisition and a government contract.

It expects to earn $2.05 to $2.15 per share for the 2010 fiscal year, in line with analyst expectations of $2.12 per share.

The company's stock rose 60 cents, or nearly 4 percent, to $16.57 in afternoon trading Tuesday.