Encompass Health Income from Shares Slide 57%, Revenues Near $1.1B

The Birmingham, Alabama-based post-acute care provider reiterated its 2019 financial guidance.

Encompass Health improved upon its net operating revenues in Q4 2018 by 8.6% compared to Q4 2017, according to its latest earnings report released Thursday evening. 

The Birmingham, Alabama-based company attributed its success to volume and pricing growth among its inpatient rehabilitation sector, as well as in home health and hospice services.

However, the company saw its income from continuing operations attributable per diluted share drop precipitously by 57.4% year-over-year, due to loss of contingencies mounting to $52 million and related settlements totalling $48 million.

C-SUITE PERSPECTIVE: 

"We ended 2018 with another quarter of strong operating and financial results," Mark Tarr, CEO of Encompass Health, said in a statement. "Through the course of 2018, we met or exceeded our objectives for growth and quality, and we made substantial gains on initiatives such as clinical collaboration, enhanced data analytics, and the development of post-acute solutions. The investments we are making in our business position us well to meet the growing demand for the services we provide."

Adjusted earnings per share rose by more than 14% compared to Q4 2017, which the company stated was due to the combination of higher revenues and a lower tax rate.

The company also benefited from an adjusted cash flow increase of nearly 24%, totalling at $113.3 million.

For the full year of 2018, adjusted cash flows accumulated to $538.1 million, which CFO Doug Coltharp said was "sufficient to fund capacity expansions in both business segments and shareholder distributions, while still reducing funded debt."

ADDITIONAL Encompass Health Q4 EARNINGS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Encompass' adjusted EBITDA reached $221.8 million, a 6.5% increase year-over-year.
• The provider's stock price reacted well to the earnings report, bouncing up by 0.50% in after hours trading.

For complete financial information, review Encompass Health's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.