Battling continued headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, national home care firms Amedisys and Encompass beat Wall Street expectations for the first quarter of 2022.
Baton Rouge, LA-based Amedisys reported earnings Wednesday of $1.23 per share on revenues of $545.3 million for the first three months of the year. That compares to $1.54 per share on revenues of $537.1 million during the same period last year. Earnings per share were $0.11 better than the $1.12 per share analysts predicted the company would earn during the quarter.
In a statement, Amedisys President and CEO Chris Gerard highlighted the “ups and downs” the company experienced during the quarter.
“We saw omicron impact our business and the number of clinicians on quarantine in January,” Gerard wrote. “We signed two home health acquisitions and are well on our way to additional inorganic growth; we saw discharge rates in our hospice business reach new highs and subsequently have begun to pull back; and we continued to field a tremendous amount of interest for hospital-at-home and other high-acuity care products.”
The company also reaffirmed net revenue guidance for 2022 guidance in the range of $2.330 billion to $2.365 billion.
Meanwhile, Birmingham, AL-based Encompass Health Corporation disclosed Wednesday it made $0.97 per share on revenues of $1.33 billion for the quarter. That compares to $1.05 per share on revenues of $1.23 billion for the same period last year. Wall Street analysts predicted Encompass would earn $0.92 a share on revenues of 1.32 billion.
Revenues for the company’s home health division rose 2.3% for the quarter, while revenues for the company’s hospice unit slipped by roughly the same amount. Encompass President and CEO Mark Tarr said in a press release the company performed well for the quarter, despite continued challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.
‘While we continue to face near-term staffing challenges, we remain confident in the long-term prospects for our businesses,” Tarr said.
Encompass announced earlier this year that it will spin off its home health and hospice business into a separate company called Enhabit by the end of this quarter. However, the company said it would also consider a possible sale or merger with the right suitor.
Both Amedisys and Encompass will offer details on the quarter Thursday morning during conference calls with analysts.
