FHP Posts 16.7% Jump in Third-Quarter Profit

FHP International Corp., a health maintenance organization, said Thursday that its third-quarter net income jumped 16.7%, spurred by a nearly 11% increase in member enrollment.

For the quarter ended March 31, the Fountain Valley company’s net income increased to $16.8 million from $14.4 million for the same quarter in the previous fiscal year. Earnings per share increased to 50 cents from 43 cents.

For the nine-month period, the company’s net income increased 42%, to $38.3 million from $27 million, and earnings per share increased to $1.14 from 82 cents.

“Their earnings were right on target. It was a good quarter for them,” said Thomas Hodapp, an analyst with Robertson Stephens & Co., an investment banking firm in San Francisco.

The company’s stock was up 62.5 cents Thursday on Nasdaq to close at $24.75 a share.

Total membership in the HMO increased to 906,000 from 820,000 for the same period a year ago. FHP operates in California, Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and the U.S. territory of Guam.