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March-Quarter Consolidated Highlights
Ramon M. Ruiz-Comas, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated "We are pleased to report that our first-quarter performance provided us with an excellent start to 2010. For the period, we recorded solid revenue growth, reflecting very strong gains in our Commercial business and we are extremely proud of the approximately 98% membership retention rate achieved. The improvement in our overall MLR was in line with our expectations and operating profitability in the Managed Care segment nearly doubled from the prior year. We are reaffirming our 2010 earnings-per-share guidance of $2.05-$2.15."
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"In March 2010, health care reform was enacted in the United States, significantly broadening the scope of coverage to a larger majority of the population. While there is still uncertainty surrounding many of the legislation's specifics, because our business is concentrated in Puerto Rico, our initial assessment is that for the next two years key components will not affect us in the same way as our U.S. peers. Moreover, additional funding is anticipated for Medicaid, which would be of significant benefit to our population. We are awaiting further clarification on the regulation. We remain confident that our business model, which enables us to diversify risk and diminish the variability that can occur in each of our segments, along with ongoing opportunities for expansion, will allow us to sustain our growth," concluded Ruiz-Comas.
Selected Quarterly Details
Segment Performance
Triple-S Management operates in three segments: 1) Managed Care, 2) Life Insurance, and 3) Property and Casualty Insurance. Management evaluates performance based primarily on the operating revenues and operating income of each segment. Operating revenues include premiums earned, net administrative service fees and net investment income. Operating costs include claims incurred and operating expenses. The Company calculates operating income or loss as operating revenues minus operating expenses. Operating margin is defined as operating gain or loss divided by operating revenues.
Conference Call and Webcast
Management will host a conference call and webcast Wednesday, May 5 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss its financial results for the first quarter of 2010, as well as expectations for future earnings. To participate, callers within the U.S. and Canada should dial 877-941-8631, and international callers should dial 480-629-9822 about five minutes before the presentation.
To listen to the webcast, participants should visit the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's Web site at www.triplesmanagement.com several minutes before the event is broadcast and follow the instructions provided to ensure they have the necessary audio application downloaded and installed. This program is provided at no charge to the user. An archived version of the call, also located on the "Investor Relations" section of Triple-S Management's Web site, will be available about two hours after the call ends and for at least the following two weeks. This news release, along with other information relating to the call, will be available on the "Investor Relations" section of the Web site.
About Triple-S Management Corporation
Triple-S Management Corporation is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. It is the largest managed care company in Puerto Rico, serving approximately 1.3 million members. Triple-S Management also has the exclusive right to use the Blue Cross Blue Shield name and mark throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. With more than 50 years of experience in the industry, Triple-S Management offers a broad portfolio of managed care and related products in the Commercial, Medicare, and Reform markets under the Blue Cross Blue Shield brand. In addition to its managed care business, Triple-S Management provides non-Blue Cross Blue Shield branded life and property and casualty insurance in Puerto Rico. The Company is the largest provider of life, accident, and health insurance and the fourth largest provider of property and casualty insurance in its market.
For more information about Triple-S Management, visit www.triplesmanagement.com or contact [email protected].
Forward-Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future sales, results of operations, developments, regulatory approvals or other circumstances. Sentences that include "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend", "estimate", "anticipate", "project", "may", "will", "shall", "should" and similar expressions, whether in the positive or negative, are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements in this news release reflect management's current views about future events and are based on assumptions and subject to risks and uncertainties. Consequently, actual results may differ materially from those expressed here as a result of various factors, including all the risks discussed and identified in public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In addition, the Company operates in a highly competitive, constantly changing environment, influenced by very large organizations that have resulted from business combinations, aggressive marketing and pricing practices of competitors, and regulatory oversight. The following factors, if markedly different from the Company's planning assumptions (either individually or in combination), could cause Triple-S Management's results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements shared here:
This list is not exhaustive. Management believes the forward-looking statements in this release are reasonable. However, there is no assurance that the actions, events or results anticipated by the forward-looking statements will occur or, if any of them do, what impact they will have on the Company's results of operations or financial condition. In view of these uncertainties, investors should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are based on current expectations. In addition, forward-looking statements are based on information available the day they are made, and (other than as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States) the Company does not intend to update or revise any of them in light of new information or future events.
Readers are advised to carefully review and consider the various disclosures in the Company's SEC reports.
-- Total consolidated operating revenues increased 9.8% year over year to $519.1 million; -- Operating income was $16.4 million; -- Excluding net realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments and a derivatives loss; included within other income (expenses), net income was $10.8 million, or $0.37 per diluted share; -- Consolidated loss ratio was 86.2% and the medical loss ratio (MLR) was 90.0%; -- Consolidated operating expense ratio increased 40 basis points to 15.2%; -- Commercial member months enrollment, including ASO membership, increased 23.6%.
SOURCE Triple-S Management Corporation
