Kindred Healthcare, a Louisville, Ky.-based post-acute-care operator, reported a significantly lower net loss late Wednesday for the third quarter compared with the same period a year ago, a sign that recent restructuring efforts are bearing financial fruit.
Kindred reported a loss of $4.3 million for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared with a roughly $107 million loss in the same period last year. Revenue for the quarter hit $1.2 billion, roughly the same as the $1.2 billion seen in the same quarter its prior fiscal year.
Kindred has been restructuring its operations and exiting unprofitable business lines. It's also in the midst of a major takeover, having won a prolonged battle for control of Gentiva Health Services with a roughly $1.8 billion deal. The merged company is expected to see $7.1 billion in annual revenue, Kindred said.
“The positive results in our home health and hospice operations reflect continued execution improvement by our Care Management division,” said Benjamin Breier, Kindred’s president and chief operating officer. “We believe that the merger with Gentiva Health Services, Inc. will further accelerate these capabilities.” Breier is set to become Kindred’s CEO next year.
Kindred has been focusing growth efforts on home health and hospice care within its care management division, which recorded more than 60% revenue growth in the third quarter, the company said.
Outgoing Kindred CEO Paul Diaz seemed to hint that the operator could be in the market for more home health and hospice acquisitions when he said in the company earnings statements that Kindred is evaluating “a robust pipeline of external opportunities to deploy our financial resources, industry leading infrastructure and management capabilities.”
Kindred's hospital division reported 3% same-facility admissions growth. The division also saw less than 1% growth in core operating costs per patient day.
Nine-month revenue reached $3.8 billion, compared with $3.6 billion in the first nine months of 2013. The company saw a net loss of $32 million in the first nine months of this year, compared with a net loss of $102.2 million in the same period last year.
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