Yahoo Finance Community Health (CYH) Q1 Earnings Top on Better Occupancy Rates
Community Health Systems, Inc. CYH reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted loss of 14 cents per share, which was narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 19 cents. The bottom line also improved from the prior year's loss of 43 cents per share.
Net operating revenues rose 1% year over year to $3.14 billion in the quarter under review. The top line beat the consensus mark by 1.5%.
The strong quarterly results benefited from improved occupancy rates, reimbursement rates and lower contract labor and supplies expenses. However, declining admissions and patient days partially offset the positives.
Community Health Systems, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Community Health Systems, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Community Health Systems, Inc. Quote
Quarterly Operational Update
At the first-quarter end, the hospital count for Community Health was 71, which aligned with our estimate.
Patient days tumbled 2.8% year over year and missed our estimate by 1.2%. The average length of stay remained flat year over year, while the occupancy rate of 53.9% improved 200 basis points year over year.
Admissions fell 2.3% year over year. Adjusted admissions also declined 4% year over year in the quarter under review. On a same-store basis, admissions and adjusted admissions improved 3.8% and 1.9%, respectively, from their corresponding prior-year quarter’s reported figures.
Licensed beds of CYH totaled 11,866 as of Mar 31, 2024, which indicates a decrease of 884 beds from the prior-year quarter. The reported figure missed our estimate by 1.5%.
Total operating costs and expenses rose 0.4% year over year to $2.91 billion in the first quarter, higher than our estimate of $2.85 billion. Meanwhile, net interest expenses of $211 million increased 1.9% year over year. The metric came higher than our estimate of $203.3 million.
The company reported a net loss of $41 million in the first quarter compared with $51 million in the year-ago period. Adjusted EBITDA improved 12.8% year over year to $378 million in the quarter under review primarily due to the higher net benefit of supplemental reimbursement programs, reimbursement rates and reduction in supplies and contract labor expense. The metric surpassed our estimate of $368.2 million.
Financial Update (as of Mar 31, 2024)
Community Health exited the first quarter with cash and cash equivalents of $48 million, which increased from $38 million at 2023-end. Total assets of $14.4 billion decreased from $14.5 billion at 2023-end.
Long-term debt amounted to $11.53 billion, which increased from $11.47 billion at 2023-end. Current maturities of long-term debt were $34 million.
In the first quarter of 2024, CYH generated operating cash flows of $96 million, up from $5 million year over year.
2024 Outlook Reaffirmed
The company expects net operating revenues between $12.3 billion and $12.7 billion for 2024, the mid-point of which indicates no change from the 2023 figure of $12.5 billion.
Adjusted EBITDA is estimated to be in the range of $1.475-$1.625 billion. The mid-point of the guidance implies a 6.7% rise from the 2023 figure of $1.453 billion.
Net loss per share is expected to be between 65 cents and 5 cents in 2024. Community Health reported a net loss of $1.39 per share in 2023.
Depreciation and amortization are predicted to be in the range of $490-$510 million for 2024.
Net cash from operating activities is anticipated to be between $500 million and $650 million in 2024. Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $350-$400 million. Diluted weighted-average shares outstanding are estimated to be in the range of $132-133 million.
Zacks Rank
Community Health currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Medical Sector Releases
Of the Medical sector players that have reported first-quarter 2024 results so far, the bottom-line results of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH, Elevance Health, Inc. ELV and Molina Healthcare, Inc. MOH beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
UnitedHealth Group reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $6.91 per share, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4.2%. The bottom line rose 10.4% year over year. Revenues amounted to $99.8 billion, which improved 8.6% year over year in the quarter under review on the back of strong performance in its UnitedHealthcare and Optum business lines. The top line outpaced the consensus mark of $99.2 billion.
Elevance Health reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $10.64, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 0.9%. The bottom line climbed 12.5% year over year. Operating revenues rose 0.9% year over year to almost $42.3 billion in the quarter under review. However, the top line missed the consensus mark by 0.4%.
Molina Healthcare reported first-quarter 2024 adjusted EPS of $5.73, which surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 5%. However, the bottom line declined 1.4% year over year. Operating revenues rose 21.9% year over year to almost $9.9 billion in the quarter under review and outpaced the consensus mark by 4.3%.
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