Five major for-profit hospital operators — Community Health Systems, HCA Holdings, LifePoint Health, Tenet Healthcare and Universal Health Services — produced mixed financial results through the first three quarters of 2016.
1. Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems saw earnings drop significantly in the first quarter of 2016. The hospital operator said revenues slightly increased during the three-month period, but its net income fell 86 percent year over year to $11 million in the first quarter of 2016.
CHS saw a 6 percent year-over-year decrease in revenues in the second quarter of 2016, with revenues falling to $4.6 billion. The company ended the second quarter with a $1.4 billion loss, compared with a profit of $117 million in the same quarter of 2015. During the second quarter, CHS recorded a noncash impairment charge of $1.4 billion.
The hospital operator recorded revenues of nearly $4.4 billion in the third quarter of this year, down 9.6 percent from $4.8 billion in the same period of 2015. After factoring in the effects of lower patient volume and a noncash impairment charge of $39 million, CHS ended the third quarter with a net loss of $79 million, compared with a $52 million profit in the same period of 2015.
2. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Holdings saw revenue increase to $10.2 billion in the first quarter of 2016, up 6 percent from $9.7 billion in the same period of 2015. The financial boost was largely attributable to patient volume growth during the three-month period, which ended March 31. HCA ended the first quarter with net income of $694 million, up 17.4 percent from $591 million in the same period of the year prior.
HCA said revenues climbed 4.3 percent year over year to $10.3 billion in the second quarter of 2016. The increase in revenues was attributable, in part, to growth in same-facility admissions and emergency room visits, which increased 0.6 percent and 4.1 percent, respectively, year over year. HCA said inpatient and outpatient surgery volumes also increased in the second quarter of 2016. The company ended the second quarter with net income of $658 million, compared to $507 million in the same quarter of the year prior.
HCA saw revenues rise to $10.3 billion in the third quarter of this year, up 4.2 percent from the same period of 2015. Once again, the revenue boost was partially attributable to higher patient volumes. HCA ended the third quarter with net income of $618 million, up 38 percent from $449 million in the same period of 2015.
3. Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Health saw revenues increase to nearly $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2016, up 25.1 percent from revenues of $1.3 billion in the same period of 2015. A weak flu season and expenses tied to legal settlements caused the hospital operator's profit to fall in the first quarter. LifePoint ended the first quarter with net income of $21.6 million, down 44.5 percent from the same period of the year prior.
The hospital operator recorded revenues of $1.6 billion in the second quarter of 2016, up 25.3 percent from $1.3 billion in the same period of the year prior. Although LifePoint saw revenue rise in the second quarter, the company said the loss of key physicians at one of its largest hospitals caused expenses to increase. LifePoint ended the second quarter with net income of $20.1 million, down 59.6 percent from $49.8 million in the same quarter of 2015.
LifePoint reported revenues of $1.6 billion in the third quarter of 2016, up 21.1 percent from $1.3 billion in the same period of 2015. The company said the financial boost was primarily attributable to its recent acquisitions. LifePoint ended the third quarter with net income of $41.2 million, down 10 percent from $45.8 million in the same period of 2015.
4. Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare recorded revenues of-$5 billion in the first quarter of 2016, up 14 percent from $4.4 billion in the same period of the year prior. However, after accounting for an increase in operating expenses and litigation reserves, the hospital operator ended the quarter in the red. Tenet reported a net loss of $59 million in the first quarter, down from a net profit of $47 million in the same period of 2015.
Tenet saw a 6 percent year-over-year increase in revenues in the second quarter. After accounting for another increase in litigation reserves, Tenet ended the second quarter with a net loss of $44 million, compared to a $60 million net loss in the same period of 2015.
The company posted revenues of $4.8 billion in the third quarter of 2016, up 3.3 percent from revenues of $4.7 billion in the same period of the year prior. An increase in patient volume fueled the revenue boost. Tenet recorded a net loss of $9 million in the third quarter, an improvement from the $28 million net loss the company reported in the same period of 2015.
5. King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services recorded revenue of $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2016, up 10.1 percent from the same quarter of the year prior. UHS reported net income of $190.8 million in the first quarter of 2016, up from $174.3 million in the same quarter of 2015. The financial boost was partially attributable to an increase in patient volume. On a same-facility basis, UHS said admissions adjusted for outpatient activity were up 7.8 percent in the first quarter of 2016 compared to the same quarter of 2015. Adjusted admissions also increased at the hospital operator's behavioral health facilities in the first quarter of this year.
UHS saw revenues jump 6.8 percent year over year to $2.4 billion in the second quarter of 2016. Once again, the financial boost was attributable, in part, to an increase in patient volume. UHS recorded net income of $185.6 million in the second quarter, up from $182.2 million in the same period of 2015.
UHS posted revenues of $2.4 billion in the third quarter of 2016, up 8.2 percent from the same period of the year prior. When adjusted for outpatient activity, UHS said admissions were up 4.6 in the third quarter of 2016, as compared to same period of 2015. The company ended the third quarter with net income of $151.9 million, up about 1 percent from $150.3 million in the same period of the year prior.
The five major for-profit hospital operators will release their financial results for the fourth quarter of 2016, which ends Dec. 31, early next year.
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