Earnings Drop 54% at PacifiCare Health Systems

PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said net earnings for its fiscal 1987 first quarter ended Dec. 31 fell 54%, to $599,000 from $1.3 million a year earlier. Revenues, however, increased 113% to $62.3 million from $29.3 million a year earlier.

The struggling Cypress-based health maintenance organization said its medical loss ratio, or the percentage of its premiums spent on medical care, increased to 87% during the quarter, compared to 76.1% a year before.

At the end of December, PacifiCare’s total membership stood at 196,353 members in four states, an increase of 64% compared to 119,768 members in two states a year earlier. PacifiCare operates in California, Oregon, Oklahoma and Texas.