Health Net Inc. announced third-quarter earnings that matched Wall Street expectations Monday, even as the company plans to finalize its planned merger early next year. The Woodland Hills insurer reported net income of $60.3 million (77 cents a share) for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared to a net loss of $8.9 million (-11 cents) for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue increased 9.6 percent to $4.15 billion. Adjusted for one-time items, net income was 96 cents a share. Analysts on average expected net income of 96 cents on revenue of $4.35 billion, according to Thomson Financial Network. In July Health Net announced a merger with Centene Corp. in St. Louis. In conjunction with its quarterly results, the company repeated its previous statement that it expects the merger will close in early 2016. Shares closed up 99 cents or 1.5 percent to $65.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
