Premier, the Charlotte, N.C.-based provider of group purchasing and data tools and services for hospitals, said revenue rose 15% to $229.3 million in the first quarter because of increased administrative fees and higher utilization of its direct-sourcing and specialty-pharmacy businesses.
Net income also went up, rising 6% to $47.7 million in the first quarter of 2015, compared with the $45 million reported in the quarter a year ago.
The company filed an IPO in October 2013, making it one of two publicly traded GPOs on the market. Last year's earnings are reported on a non-GAAP pro-forma basis.
Premier is partly owned by hospitals and other healthcare providers. Last month, some hospital owners chose to sell one-seventh of their shares and can do so every year for a total of seven years. This allows them to monetize their ownership in Premier. About 50 providers said in October they planned to exchange their shares for public Class-A shares.
Going public also has allowed Premier to raise capital to invest in new businesses. The company in the last year has made four deals totaling roughly $180 million.
Premier said that the quarter's performance was fueled by a 16% increase in revenue to $170.3 million in the supply-chain services business, which makes up about 75% of Premier's revenue. Administrative fees rose 4.1% to $106.5 million in the first quarter of 2015, which ended Sept. 30.
“This was driven by new member conversions and higher utilization of our GPO contracts by existing acute and alternate-site members,” Premier President and CEO Susan DeVore said in a statement.
The performance-services business also reported a jump in revenue, going up 11% to $59 million.
Executives said they expect Premier's revenue in 2015 to increase between 11% and 14%.
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