Aug 6 (Reuters) - Healthcare company DaVita raised its 2024 profit forecast on Tuesday expecting strong demand for its kidney dialysis services, sending shares of the company up 3% in aftermarket trade.

Shares of DaVita, similar to those of its peers, witnessed a steep fall in October last year and gradually recovered in 2024, after the company downplayed speculations over the impact of new GLP-1 weight-loss drugs potentially dampening the market for dialysis services.

The Colorado-based firm now sees 2024 adjusted per-share profit between $9.25 and $10.05, raised from its previous view of $9.00 and $9.80.

Analysts' average estimate for annual per share profit is pegged at $9.32, according to LSEG data.

The company provides care services in the United States to patients suffering from chronic kidney failure through a network of outpatient clinics and at-home dialysis services.

DaVita said it continued to experience delays in claims processing through the first half of 2024 as a result of the Change Healthcare outage, for which it applied for and received interest-free funding from UnitedHealth.

The company posted quarterly revenue of $3.19 billion, ahead of analysts' estimate of $3.15 billion.

On an adjusted basis, it reported a profit of $2.59 per share for the quarter, above analysts' estimate of $2.54 per share.

(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)