Aetna Profit Climbs 28% on Cost Cuts

Aetna Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, said quarterly profit climbed 28% as the company curbed medical costs and raised premiums.

Second-quarter net income rose to $138.4 million, or 87 cents a share, from $108.2 million, or 70 cents, a year earlier, Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna said. Revenue declined 12% to $4.47 billion as membership rolls shrank.

Aetna has dropped more than 6 million members who were too costly to insure and raised rates for others since Chief Executive John Rowe, a physician, took over three years ago. His next challenge will be to add members in a slow economy without cutting rates and hurting profit, analysts said. Shares of Aetna fell $1.99, or 2.9%, to $66.50 on the NYSE.

From Bloomberg News

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* Ingram Micro Inc., the world’s biggest distributor of computers and related parts, said second-quarter profit rose 31% as it reduced costs. Net income rose to $11.5 million, or 8 cents a share, from $8.82 million, or 6 cents, in the year-earlier period, the Santa Ana company said. Sales fell 3.4% to $5.17 billion.