CVS 4Q profit jumps in wake of US tax law

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CVS Health Corp (NYSE:CVS), which said in December it would buy health insurer Aetna Inc (NYSE:AET) in a $69 billion deal, posted a jump in profit on Thursday, helped by savings from the biggest overhaul of the U.S. tax code in 30 years.

Net income attributable to the company rose 92.6 percent to $3.3 billion, or $3.2 per share, in the fourth-quarter ended Dec. 31, from $1.7 billion, or $1.59 per share, a year earlier, helped by an income tax benefit of $1.5 billion.

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Excluding tax savings, the company earned $1.92 per share, beating analysts' average estimate of $1.89, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Revenue rose 5.3 percent to $48.4 billion.

(Reporting by Nandita Bose in New YorkEditing by Chizu Nomiyama)