WellStar Health System, which announced this week that it is in talks to join forces with Emory Healthcare, reported an improvement in its operating margin in the first half of its fiscal 2015.
The Marietta, Ga.-based system reported an operating margin of 4.6% (PDF) for the six-month period ended Dec. 31, up from 2.4% in the prior-year period.
In total, it saw an operating surplus of $41.5 million on revenue of $905.1 million in the six-month period compared with an operating surplus of $19.2 million on revenue of $808.1 million in the first half of fiscal 2014.
However, losses on its investments dragged down the system's bottom line. Its net surplus was only $27.5 million, compared with the comparable 2014 period's $71.7 million.
The financial statement did not include utilization statistics.
WellStar and Atlanta-based Emory announced Monday that they intend to merge their hospitals and post-acute-care assets under a single umbrella. The parties are in a 45-day public discussion period and will then formalize the concept over the following 12 months.
Follow Beth Kutscher on Twitter: @MHbkutscher
