Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare saw its revenue decline in the third quarter of this year, but its net loss narrowed year over year.
The for-profit hospital operator ended the third quarter of 2020 with revenues of $4.56 billion, down slightly from $4.57 billion in the same period a year earlier. Net operating revenues for Tenet's hospital segment were $3.8 billion in the third quarter of this year, down 1.2 percent from the same quarter of 2019. The company attributed the decline to lower patient volumes as a result of COVID-19. The company said net patient service revenue per adjusted admission was up 17 percent year over year.
After factoring in operating expenses, Tenet reported operating income of $271 million in the third quarter of this year, down from $302 million a year earlier.
"The third quarter of 2020 was in many ways more challenging than the second, with COVID positive inpatient census surging by approximately 64 percent in our markets in late July and August," Tenet Executive Chair and CEO Ronald A. Rittenmeyer said in an earnings release. "Our operators executed exceptionally throughout our entire system, ensuring they cared for the surge in COVID patients and continued the safe return of non-COVID patient volumes closer to normalized levels."
The company ended the third quarter with a net loss attributable to shareholders of $197 million, compared to the $227 million loss it recorded in the same period a year earlier.
Tenet said it has received federal grants and loans to help offset financial strain tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company has received about $1.5 billion in Medicare advance payments, which must be repaid beginning one year after they were issued. Tenet also received about $890 million in federal grants, $453 million of which it recognized in the first three quarters of this year.
As of Oct. 19, Tenet had about $3.3 billion of cash on hand and no borrowings under its $1.9 billion line-of-credit facility.