By Sabela Ojea


UnitedHealth Group swung to a loss in the first quarter after being the target of a cyberattack that will also hit its full-year results, as it suspended some of its care-management activities.

The healthcare and insurance company on Tuesday posted a net loss of $1.22 billion, or $1.53 a share, compared with a profit of $5.77 billion, or $5.95 a share, for the same period a year earlier.

The medical care ratio, or the ratio of medical costs to premium revenue, rose to 84.3% from 82.2% in the same period a year ago. That was ahead the FactSet consensus of 83.8%.

Stripping out one-time items, UnitedHealth's earnings per share came in at $6.91. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast adjusted earnings per share of $6.61.

Revenue climbed 8.6% to $99.80 billion, beating analysts' expectations of $99.23 billion, according to FactSet.

The company said the cyberattack hit its Change Healthcare business and it continues to work on restoring these services while providing support to health providers. So far, it has provided over $6 billion in advance funding and interest-free loans to support care providers in need.

The company updated its 2024 net earnings outlook to $17.60 to $18.20 per share to reflect the sale of its Brazil operations and the expected direct response costs of the cyberattack, and kept its adjusted net earnings outlook of $27.50 to $28.00 per share.

Overall, UnitedHealth expects a cyberattack-related hit to its full-year earnings of $1.15 to $1.35 per share. It also anticipates direct-response costs of 85 cents to 95 cents per share for the year as a whole.


Write to Sabela Ojea at sabela.ojea@wsj.com; @sabelaojeaguix


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-16-24 0642ET