NU Online News Service, Feb. 13, 2004, 6:04 p.m. EST – Past restructuring efforts continued to pay off for Aetna Inc., Hartford, in the fourth quarter of 2003.[@@]

The managed care company is reporting $249.5 million in net income for the latest quarter on $4.6 billion in revenue, compared with $98.2 million in net income on $4.7 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2002.

The company ended the latest quarter providing or administering health coverage for 13 million people, down from 13.7 million people a year earlier. But health claims costs and other health unit operating expenses also dropped, Aetna says.