Portland-based MaineHealth saw its operating performance improve in first quarter of fiscal 2019; however, investment losses pulled down the nonprofit health system's net income year over year, according to unaudited financial documents.
MaineHealth reported an operating gain of $24.1 million in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2018, compared to $21.1 million in the same period a year earlier. The health system attributed the favorable change to improved financial performance at its Southern Maine Health Care facility in Biddeford, Maine, and its Coastal Healthcare Alliance in Rockport, Maine.
For the first quarter of fiscal 2019, MaineHealth recorded revenue of $659.3 million, up 6.8 percent from $617.3 million in the same quarter a year prior. The health system attributed the change to higher net patient revenues, thanks to increases in acute care patient days, inpatient acuity and radiology and heart catheterization lab procedures at its Portland-based Maine Medical Center.
At the same time, MaineHealth saw its operating expenses increase 6.5 percent year over year to $635.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The increase was primarily due to higher inpatient volumes and inpatient acuity at MCM, as well as annual increases in salary and benefits.
After including a $28.4 million decrease in its fair value investments, MaineHealth ended the first quarter of 2019 with net income of $1.6 million, down from $41.2 million in the same quarter a year prior.
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