CENTENE CORPORATION REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2022 RESULTS AND INCREASES 2022 GUIDANCE

-- Diluted EPS of $1.44; Adjusted Diluted EPS of $1.83 --

-- Raises Total Revenue and Adjusted EPS Guidance --

ST. LOUIS, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC) announced today its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022, reporting diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.44 and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.83.

In summary, the 2022 first quarter results were as follows:

"Our strong first quarter performance demonstrates Centene's ability to deliver on our financial goals while continuing to make progress against our Value Creation initiatives," said Sarah M. London, Chief Executive Officer of Centene. "As we look ahead, consistency of results and operational excellence will remain top priorities for this management team as we drive towards sustainable and profitable long-term growth."

"While it is still early in the year, we are pleased to start strong across all of our business lines. Our updated full year 2022 outlook reflects the Company's positive momentum as well as our refreshed expectations around the timing of Medicaid redeterminations," said Drew Asher, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Centene.

First Quarter Highlights

• March 31, 2022 managed care membership of 26.2 million, an increase of 1.9 million members, or 8%, compared to March 31, 2021.
• Total revenues of $37.2 billion for the first quarter of 2022, representing 24% growth compared to the first quarter of 2021.
• Premium and service revenues of $34.2 billion for the first quarter of 2022, representing 22% growth compared to the first quarter of 2021.
• Health benefits ratio (HBR) of 87.3% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 86.8% in the first quarter of 2021.
• Selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense ratio of 8.0% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 7.9% for the first quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted SG&A expense ratio of 7.7% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 7.6% for the first quarter of 2021.
• Diluted EPS for the first quarter of 2022 of $1.44, compared to $1.19 for the first quarter of 2021.
• Adjusted diluted EPS for the first quarter of 2022 of $1.83, compared to $1.63 for the first quarter of 2021.
• Operating cash flow of $1.2 billion, or 1.4 times net earnings, for the first quarter 2022.

Other Events

• In April 2022, Michael Neidorff, our long-time Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, passed away. Mr. Neidorff's leadership of Centene for more than 25 years has been instrumental to the Company's growth and success, and his commitment to providing affordable, high-quality healthcare will live on in Centene's mission.
• In March 2022, Centene announced that Sarah London, Vice Chairman of Centene, was appointed Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Michael Neidorff.
• In March 2022, Centene announced its subsidiary, Managed Health Services, was selected by the Indiana Department of Administration to continue serving Hoosier Healthwise and Health Indiana Plan members with Medicaid and Medicaid alternative managed care and care coordination services. The new contract is anticipated to begin January 1, 2023.
• In February 2022, Centene announced its subsidiary, Louisiana Healthcare Connections, was selected by the Louisiana Department of Health to continue administering quality, integrated healthcare services to Medicaid enrollees across the state. The new statewide contract is anticipated to begin July 1, 2022.

Accreditations & Awards

• In March 2022, Centene was awarded the Innovation Award for Health Equity by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA). The award recognizes Centene's data-driven Health Equity Improvement Model for being a leading-edge strategy for improving health equity and healthcare quality through innovative and creative solutions.
• In February 2022, Centene's subsidiary, Trillium Community Health Plan, earned Accreditation from the NCQA.

Membership

The following table sets forth our membership by line of business:

Revenues

The following table sets forth supplemental revenue information ($ in millions):

Statement of Operations: Three Months Ended March 31, 2022

• For the first quarter of 2022, total revenues increased 24% to $37.2 billion from $30.0 billion in the comparable period of 2021. The increase was due to organic Medicaid growth, partially due to the ongoing suspension of eligibility redeterminations, 28% membership growth in the Medicare business (16% growth since December 31, 2021), our recent acquisitions of Magellan Health (Magellan) and Circle Health, the commencement of our contracts in North Carolina, and $1.9 billion of additional premium tax revenue and retroactive state directed payments.
• HBR of 87.3% for the first quarter of 2022 represents an increase from 86.8% in the comparable period in 2021. The increase was primarily due to a return to more normalized traditional Medicaid medical utilization as compared to the first quarter of 2021, partially offset by pricing actions and lower traditional utilization in the Marketplace business.
• The cost of service ratio was 84.8% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 88.7% in the same period in 2021. The decrease in the cost of service ratio was driven by the acquisition of the Circle Health business, which operates at a lower cost of service ratio.
• The SG&A expense ratio was 8.0% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 7.9% in the first quarter of 2021. The adjusted SG&A expense ratio was 7.7% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 7.6% in the first quarter of 2021. The increases were due to the additions of the Magellan and Circle Health businesses, which operate at higher SG&A expense ratios due to the nature of the businesses. These impacts were partially offset by the leveraging of expenses over higher revenues as a result of increased membership and retroactive state directed payments. The SG&A expense ratio increased in 2022 due to higher acquisition related costs as a result of the Magellan Acquisition, partially offset by reduced restructuring charges compared to 2021. Beginning in 2022, we have included a separate line item for depreciation expense on the Consolidated Statement of Operations, which was previously included within SG&A expenses. Prior period information has been conformed to the current presentation, including the resulting SG&A expense ratios.
• The effective tax rate was 25.8% for the first quarter of 2022, compared to 25.9% in the first quarter of 2021. For the first quarter of 2022, our effective tax rate on adjusted earnings was 25.1%, compared to 25.4% in the first quarter of 2021.

Balance Sheet

At March 31, 2022, the Company had cash, investments and restricted deposits of $28.2 billion and maintained $637 million of cash and cash equivalents in our unregulated entities, including $417 million in our international subsidiaries (a material portion of which is expected to be used to satisfy contractual obligations). Medical claims liabilities totaled $16.3 billion. The Company's days in claims payable was 53 days, which is an increase of one day over the fourth quarter of 2021. Total debt was $18.9 billion, which included $213 million of borrowings on our $2.0 billion revolving credit facility at quarter end. The debt to capitalization ratio was 40.7% at March 31, 2022, excluding $182 million of non-recourse debt.

Outlook

The Company's guidance has been updated to reflect the following:

• Increased pass through revenue payments recorded in the first quarter of 2022, resulting in additional premium tax revenue of approximately $1.5 billion,
• Increased state directed premium payments recorded in the first quarter of 2022, resulting in additional premium revenue of approximately $500 million,
• Increased premium revenue due to Medicare and Medicaid growth of approximately $2 billion, including an update to reflect the ongoing suspension of Medicaid eligibility redeterminations to August 1, 2022, and
• Increased Adjusted EPS to $5.40-$5.55.

These items will be further discussed on our conference call. The Company's annual guidance for 2022 is as follows:

Conference Call

As previously announced, the Company will host a conference call Tuesday, April 26, 2022, at approximately 8:30 AM (Eastern Time) to review the financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2022.

Investors and other interested parties are invited to listen to the conference call by dialing 1-877-883-0383 in the U.S. and Canada; +1-412-902-6506 from abroad, including the following Elite Entry Number: 7792929 to expedite caller registration; or via a live, audio webcast on the Company's website at www.centene.com, under the Investors section.

A webcast replay will be available for on-demand listening shortly after the completion of the call for the next twelve months or until 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, at the aforementioned URL. In addition, a digital audio playback will be available until 9:00 AM (Eastern Time) on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, by dialing 1-877-344-7529 in the U.S., 1-855-669-9658 in Canada, or +1-412-317-0088 from abroad, and entering access code 9978555.

Non-GAAP Financial Presentation

The Company is providing certain non-GAAP financial measures in this release as the Company believes that these figures are helpful in allowing investors to more accurately assess the ongoing nature of the Company's operations and measure the Company's performance more consistently across periods. The Company uses the presented non-GAAP financial measures internally to allow management to focus on period-to-period changes in the Company's core business operations. Therefore, the Company believes that this information is meaningful in addition to the information contained in the GAAP presentation of financial information. The presentation of this additional non-GAAP financial information is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. 

Specifically, the Company believes the presentation of non-GAAP financial information that excludes amortization of acquired intangible assets and acquisition related expenses, as well as other items, allows investors to develop a more meaningful understanding of the Company's performance over time. The tables below provide reconciliations of non-GAAP items ($ in millions, except per share data):

To provide clarity on the way management defines certain key metrics and ratios, the Company is providing a description of how the metric or ratio is calculated as follows:

• Health Benefits Ratio (HBR) (GAAP) = Medical costs divided by premium revenues.
• SG&A Expense Ratio (GAAP) = Selling, general and administrative expenses divided by premium and service revenues.
• Cost of Service Ratio (GAAP) = Cost of services divided by service revenues.
• Adjusted SG&A Expense Ratio (non-GAAP) = Adjusted selling, general and administrative expenses divided by premium and service revenues.
• Adjusted Effective Tax Rate (non-GAAP) = GAAP income tax expense (benefit) excluding the income tax effects of adjustments to net earnings divided by adjusted earnings (loss) before income tax expense.
• Adjusted Net Earnings (non-GAAP) = Net earnings less amortization of acquired intangible assets, less acquisition related expenses, as well as adjustments for other items, net of the income tax effect of the adjustments.
• Adjusted Diluted EPS (non-GAAP) = Adjusted net earnings divided by weighted average common shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis.
• Debt to Capitalization Ratio (GAAP) = Total debt, divided by total debt plus total stockholder's equity.
• Debt to Capitalization Ratio Excluding Non-Recourse Debt (non-GAAP) = Total debt less non-recourse debt, divided by total debt less non-recourse debt plus total stockholder's equity.
• Average Medical Claims Expense (GAAP) = Medical costs for the period divided by number of days in such period. Average Medical Claims Expense is most often calculated for the quarterly reporting period.
• Days in Claims Payable (GAAP) = Medical claims liabilities divided by average medical claims expense. Days in Claims Payable is most often calculated for the quarterly reporting period.

In addition, the following terms are defined as follows:

• State Directed Payments: Payments directed by a state that have minimal risk, but are administered as a premium adjustment. These payments are recorded as premium revenue and medical costs at close to a 100% HBR. The Company has little visibility to the timing of these payments until they are paid by a state.
• Pass Through Payments: Non-risk supplemental payments from a state that the Company is required to pass through to designated contracted providers. These payments are recorded as premium tax revenue and premium tax expense.

About Centene Corporation

Centene Corporation, a Fortune 25 company, is a leading healthcare enterprise that is committed to helping people live healthier lives. The Company takes a local approach – with local brands and local teams – to provide fully integrated, high-quality, and cost-effective services to government-sponsored and commercial healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Centene offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation, including Medicaid and Medicare members (including Medicare Prescription Drug Plans) as well as individuals and families served by the Health Insurance Marketplace, the TRICARE program, and individuals in correctional facilities. The Company also serves several international markets, and contracts with other healthcare and commercial organizations to provide a variety of specialty services focused on treating the whole person. Centene focuses on long-term growth and value creation as well as the development of its people, systems, and capabilities so that it can better serve its members, providers, local communities, and government partners.

Centene uses its investor relations website to publish important information about the Company, including information that may be deemed material to investors. Financial and other information about Centene is routinely posted and is accessible on Centene's investor relations website, https://investors.centene.com/.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of current or historical fact, contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, forward-looking statements often use words such as "believe," "anticipate," "plan," "expect," "estimate," "intend," "seek," "target," "goal," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should," "can," "continue" and other similar words or expressions (and the negative thereof).  Centene (the Company, our, or we) intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe-harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and we are including this statement for purposes of complying with these safe-harbor provisions. In particular, these statements include, without limitation, statements about our future operating or financial performance, market opportunity, value creation strategy, competition, expected activities in completed and future acquisitions, including statements about the impact of our recently completed acquisition of Magellan Health (the Magellan Acquisition), other recent and future acquisitions and dispositions, investments and the adequacy of our available cash resources. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are based on numerous assumptions and assessments made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions, business strategies, operating environments, future developments and other factors we believe appropriate. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are subject to change because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future, including economic, regulatory, competitive and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are based on information available to us on the date hereof. Except as may be otherwise required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements included in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date hereof. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, as actual results may differ materially from projections, estimates, or other forward-looking statements due to a variety of important factors, variables and events including, but not limited to: our ability to accurately predict and effectively manage health benefits and other operating expenses and reserves, including fluctuations in medical utilization rates due to the impact of COVID-19; the risk that the election of new directors, changes in senior management, and inability to retain key personnel may create uncertainty or negatively impact our ability to execute quickly and effectively;  uncertainty as to the expected financial performance of the combined company following the recent completion of the Magellan Acquisition; the possibility that the expected synergies and value creation from the Magellan Acquisition or the acquisition of WellCare Health Plans, Inc.(the WellCare Acquisition) (or other acquired businesses) will not be realized, or will not be realized within the respective expected time periods; disruption from the integration of the Magellan Acquisition or from the integration of the WellCare Acquisition, unexpected costs, or similar risks from other acquisitions we may announce or complete from time to time, including potential adverse reactions or changes to business relationships with customers, employees, suppliers or regulators, making it more difficult to maintain business and operational relationships; a downgrade of the credit rating of our indebtedness; competition; membership and revenue declines or unexpected trends; changes in healthcare practices, new technologies, and advances in medicine; increased healthcare costs; changes in economic, political or market conditions; changes in federal or state laws or regulations, including changes with respect to income tax reform or government healthcare programs as well as changes with respect to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act (collectively referred to as the ACA) and any regulations enacted thereunder that may result from changing political conditions, the new administration or judicial actions; rate cuts or other payment reductions or delays by governmental payors and other risks and uncertainties affecting our government businesses; our ability to adequately price products; tax matters; disasters or major epidemics; changes in expected contract start dates; provider, state, federal, foreign and other contract changes and timing of regulatory approval of contracts; the expiration, suspension, or termination of our contracts with federal or state governments (including, but not limited to, Medicaid, Medicare, TRICARE or other customers); the difficulty of predicting the timing or outcome of legal or regulatory proceedings or matters, including, but not limited to, our ability to resolve claims and/or allegations made by states with regard to past practices, including at Envolve Pharmacy Solutions, Inc. (Envolve), as our pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) subsidiary, within the reserve estimate we recorded in 2021 and on other acceptable terms, or at all, or whether additional claims, reviews or investigations relating to our PBM business will be brought by states, the federal government or shareholder litigants, or government investigations; timing and extent of benefits from strategic value creation initiatives, including the possibility that these initiatives will not be successful, or will not be realized within the expected time periods; challenges to our contract awards; cyber-attacks or other privacy or data security incidents; the exertion of management's time and our resources, and other expenses incurred and business changes required in connection with complying with the undertakings in connection with any regulatory, governmental or third party consents or approvals for acquisitions; changes in expected closing dates, estimated purchase price and accretion for acquisitions; restrictions and limitations in connection with our indebtedness; our ability to maintain or achieve improvement in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Star ratings and maintain or achieve improvement in other quality scores in each case that can impact revenue and future growth; availability of debt and equity financing, on terms that are favorable to us; inflation; foreign currency fluctuations and risks and uncertainties discussed in the reports that Centene has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This list of important factors is not intended to be exhaustive. We discuss certain of these matters more fully, as well as certain other factors that may affect our business operations, financial condition and results of operations, in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Due to these important factors and risks, we cannot give assurances with respect to our future performance, including without limitation our ability to maintain adequate premium levels or our ability to control our future medical and selling, general and administrative costs.

OPERATING RATIOS

HBR BY PRODUCT

MEDICAL CLAIMS LIABILITY

The changes in medical claims liability are summarized as follows (in millions):

Centene's claims reserving process utilizes a consistent actuarial methodology to estimate Centene's ultimate liability. Any reduction in the "Incurred related to: Prior period" amount may be offset as Centene actuarially determines "Incurred related to: Current period." As such, only in the absence of a consistent reserving methodology would favorable development of prior period claims liability estimates reduce medical costs. Centene believes it has consistently applied its claims reserving methodology. Additionally, approximately $368 million was recorded as a reduction from premium revenues resulting from development within "Incurred related to: Prior period" due to minimum HBR and other return of premium programs.

The amount of the "Incurred related to: Prior period" above represents favorable development and includes the effects of reserving under moderately adverse conditions, new markets where we use a conservative approach in setting reserves during the initial periods of operations, receipts from other third party payors related to coordination of benefits and lower medical utilization and cost trends for dates of service March 31, 2021, and prior.

SOURCE Centene Corporation