HCA Holdings is expecting to report $4.5 billion in income before taxes for 2016, a 13.7% increase from the previous year.
The Nashville-based system also expects to report a 1.6% increase in same-facility admissions for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to the same period in the previous year. It also anticipates a 1.6% increase in emergency room visits in the fourth quarter compared to last year.
HCA, the nation's largest investor-owned hospital company, has been reporting positive finance margins as other hospitals struggle to do so.
In the third quarter of 2016, HCA reported net income of $618 million, compared with net income of $449 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Also in the third quarter, same-facility admissions grew by 1%, ER visits increased by 3% and inpatient surgeries increased by 1%.
HCA also expects to see another $750 million in cash for the first half of 2017 by selling its interest in Oklahoma University Medical Center and OUMC Edmond to an affiliate of the University Hospitals Authority and Trust.
HCA was an outlier among its investor-owned peers who recently faced stagnant patient volumes, rising labor costs and added expenses as they make investments in technology to reach valued-based payment goals.
Community Health Systems in particular faced a tough year in 2016 as it reported a $83 million loss from operations in the third quarter compared to a gain of $121 million in the same period a year ago.
HCA expects to release a full-report of its fourth quarter earnings Jan. 31.
