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Source: Nashville Business Journal
Author: Nikki Ross
Date: October 29, 2024
Even with two financially damaging hurricanes, HCA Healthcare Inc (NYSE: HCA) reported $17.5 billion in revenue for the third quarter.
That’s up from the $16.2 billion Nashville’s largest public company reported during the same period in 2023, according to the report. The company generated $64.9 billion in 2023, according to Business Journal research.
Hurricane Helene — which caused significant flooding and has resulted in at least 99 deaths in North Carolina — affected the company’s third quarter by $50 million, or $0.15 per diluted share, according to CEO Sam Hazen during the company’s earnings call Oct 25. Despite the losses, diluted earnings per share increased 25% to $4.90.
“As a consequence of this storm, we anticipate incurring significant expenses and lost revenue related to these issues throughout the remainder of the year,” Hazen said. “We also expect some continued, but we think, manageable impact into 2025.”
Mike Marks, chief financial officer for HCA, said both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton — which made landfall in Sarasota, Florida, as a category 3 hurricane — are expected to cost the company $200 million to $300 million, during the fourth quarter. The costs will mainly come from affected hospitals in North Carolina, including heavily impacted HCA Mission Hospital, and HCA Florida Largo Hospital.
“HCA Healthcare has numerous examples from past hurricanes where our hospitals have recovered from major storms and become more productive than pre-storm performance,” Hazen said. “I believe we can produce similar results with these two hospitals in time as we move beyond the aftereffects of these most recent storms.”
Hurricanes aren’t a deterrent for HCA when it comes to choosing locations for hospitals and sites of care, according to Hazen. The company currently has nearly 50 hospitals in Florida.
“We still believe that the state of Florida, the Gulf Coast of Texas, and so forth are very significant opportunities for our company. We invest, we believe, wisely in those communities,” Hazen said. “We hardened our facilities as much as we possibly can, but they are in fact a way of life … we think we're diversified enough across those communities to deal with that particular risk.”
Shares of HCA's stock were trading at $360 per share Tuesday afternoon, down from $408 a week ago.