Dive Brief:
- Community Health Systems reported net operating revenue of $3.38 billion for the first quarter of 2019, an 8.5% drop compared to the prior year, but it beat Wall Street expectations. The net loss was $118 million, compared to $25 million for the same period in 2018.
- Same-facility admissions were down 0.1% while same-facility net operating revenues rose 3.1% for the quarter, the Franklin, Tennessee-based hospital operator reported after market close Tuesday.
- CHS completed seven divestitures during the quarter and entered an agreement to sell one other hospital. That leaves the chain at 106 hospitals, still shy of the goal it set in its restructuring plan. CEO Wayne Smith told investors Wednesday morning the company should meet that goal of trimming to 100 hospitals this year.
Dive Insight:
CHS has been moving forward on an aggressive divestiture plan. The chain has sold or closed more than 80 hospitals in the past three years as it attempts to pare down debt largely attributable to its $7.6 billion acquisition of HMA in 2014.
The sales have strengthened CHS' overall portfolio, Smith said on the investor call. "As I've said before, this has allowed the company to shift more of our resources to better opportunities," he said. He added CHS "continues to receive inbound interest."
The loss for shareholders was $1.04 per share, compared to a loss of $0.22 per share for the first quarter of 2018. The loss was $0.53 per share after adjustments for legal costs and debt the company extinguished earlier than expected. The company's loss per share missed analyst expectations of $0.44 per share.
Net cash from operating activities was $133 million, up from $106 million the prior year.
The company expects revenues for full-year 2019 to be from $12.8 billion to $13.1 billion.
Admissions were essentially flat for CHS but other hospital operators reporting this quarter posted improvement. HCA notched its 20th consecutive quarter of admissions growth earlier this week.
CHS has also been embroiled in several legal battles. The company is under investigation for its EHR adoption and compliance with incentive payment regulation under what was known as the Meaningful Use program. CHS has also been sued by Microsoft for copyright infringement.