Dive Brief:
- Universal Health Services has posted $124.5 million net profit for Q4 2013, an 8% drop from the same period in 2012
- UHS' net revenue in the quarter rose just 2% to $1.8 billion, while expenses rose almost 4.6%.
- For all of fiscal 2013, UHS' net profit climbed 15.2% to $510.7 million, and operating income topped $1 billion. Net revenue increased 4.6% to $7.28 billion, giving the company overall operating margin of 13.9%.
Dive Insight:
UHS may not have had a great fourth quarter last year, but otherwise it seems to be doing very well. The chain, which owns 24 acute care hospitals and 174 behavioral health hospitals, has an average operating margin of 14.8%, far above the national average for all U.S. hospitals. It's interesting to note that a majority of UHS hospitals focus on behavioral healthcare -- a service line which is often considered a loser by managers of inpatient acute care hospitals. Seems UHS must be doing something right.