LifePoint's Q2 Net Income Rises 19% Ahead of Planned Privatization

Same-hospital admissions rose slightly over last year. Provision for income taxes dropped $7.4 million.

On the heels of announcing plans this week to be acquired by a private-equity firm, LifePoint Health reported quarterly earnings Friday morning that include a significant bump in income.

The rural hospital operator, based in Brentwood, Tennessee, reported net income of $54.8 million in the second quarter of 2018, up about 19% from the $46 million it reported this time last year. That translates to $1.33 in earnings per diluted share, up 29% from $1.03 in the second-quarter of 2017.

Excluding adjustments, LifePoint reported second-quarter net income of $52.4 million attributable to the company, up about 23% from the $42.5 million it reported the same time last year. That translates to adjusted diluted earnings per share attributable to the company of $1.27, up 32% from $0.96 reported in the second-quarter of 2017.

Same-hospital revenues were $1.57 billion, up 0.6% from $1.56 billion from second-quarter 2017.
Same-hospital equivalent admissions rose 0.5%.
LifePoint's revised guidance for 2018 projects revenues of $6.25-6.32 billion, with same-hospital revenue growth between 0.5% and 1.6%.
LifePoint's provision for income taxes dropped $7.4 million, from $24.4 million in the second quarter of 2017 (1.5% of revenues) to $17.0 million in the second quarter of 2018 (1.1% of revenues).

In a separate disclosure to the Securities & Exchange Commission, LifePoint released a message Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer John Bumpus sent to certain employees regarding the $5.6 billion deal with private-equity firm Apollo Global Management to take the company private and merge it with RCCH HealthCare Partners.

"This merger is an opportunity for LifePoint to meaningfully extend its mission and explore new ways to develop what the future of non-urban healthcare looks like in America, with the added resources and partnership of Apollo and RCCH," Bumpus wrote. "We determined we could achieve this more effectively by moving to a private setting and at the same time achieve significant value for our current shareholders."

"Remember your tone as a leader will be your team's tone," Bumpus added. "This is an exciting time and important milestone for our company’s ability to achieve our mission."

More detail on LifePoint's second-quarter earnings are available in its SEC filing.

Steven Porter is an associate content manager and Strategy editor for HealthLeaders, a Simplify Compliance brand.