LifePoint reports improved results in third quarter

Third-quarter earnings season for publicly traded hospital operators kicked off Friday with LifePoint Hospitals' results, and so far the numbers are encouraging.

LifePoint reported a 69.9% increase in income from continuing operations, or $32.5 million compared with $19.2 million during the same period last year. It also reported revenue of $899.7 million, a 9.7% improvement.

However, patient volume was still weak, declining 4.3% for same-facility admissions and 1.3% for adjusted admissions, which takes into account outpatient activity.

The better-than-expected results from the Brentwood, Tenn.-based chain follow an Oct. 17 earnings preview from HCA, which also showed higher year-over-year patient volume, revenue and net income. The Nashville-based chain said it expects to report a 0.7% increase in inpatient admissions and 1.1% for equivalent admissions. Net income is expected to increase 3.5% to $701 million on $8.5 billion in revenue.

Universal Health Services and Community Health Systems report earnings on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. and HCA follow on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. Health Management Associates has not yet announced a date.

Analysts have remained cautious about the quarter, especially for those chains that primarily operate rural facilities—such as Community and HMA. HCA, currently the largest hospital owner in the country, has been able to diversify into outpatient service lines and aggressively cut costs to counteract the volume declines.

Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher