Aug 1 (Reuters) - Cigna ( CI ) reported a second-quarter

profit on Thursday that beat Wall Street estimates, helped by

lower-than-expected medical costs and strength in its pharmacy

benefit management unit.

The industry has been contending with elevated medical costs

since late last year, as older adults catch up on delayed

procedures, and lower-than-expected payments from the government

for managing healthcare for people aged 65 and older or with

disabilities, under the Medicare plans.

Compared to UnitedHealth ( UNH ) and Humana, Cigna ( CI )

has a much smaller presence in the Medicare Advantage (MA)

market and is in the process of selling its MA business to

Health Care Service Corp.

Cigna ( CI ) relies more on managing employer-sponsored healthcare

plans.

While the company saw its medical care ratio - the

percentage of premiums spent on medical care - rise to 82.3%

from 81.2% a year earlier, it was lower than analysts

expectations of 82.43%, according to LSEG estimates.

Cigna ( CI ) maintained its annual profit forecast of at least

$28.40 per share, and said it continues to expect a medical care

ratio between 81.7% and 82.5% for the year.

For 2024, analysts expect a profit of $28.51 per share and a

medical care ratio of 82.08%.

Adjusted sales in Cigna's ( CI ) Evernorth unit, under which it

operates pharmacy benefit management (PBM) business, jumped

nearly 30% to $49.55 billion, for the quarter ended June 30.

The company reported an adjusted profit of $6.72 per share,

compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.41.