Oct 26 (Reuters) - Hospital operator HCA Healthcare Inc on Monday reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and said it expects to continue to treat COVID-19 patients throughout 2021.

The company said it expects COVID-19 patients to make up 4%-5% of total admissions in 2021.

HCA sales rose 4.8% to $13.31 billion in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, beating estimates of $12.86 billion.

Net income attributable to HCA rose to $668 million, or $1.95 per share, in the quarter, from $612 million, or $1.76 per share, a year earlier. (Reporting By Dania Nadeem and Mrinalika Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)