=Tenet Healthcare (THC) reported earnings on Mon 27 Feb 17 (a/h)

Tenet Healthcare misses by $0.16, misses on revs; guides Q1 revs in-line and EPS below consensus; guides FY17 EPS below consensus, revs in-line:

• Reports Q4 (Dec) earnings of $0.06 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.16 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.22; revenues fell 3.3% year/year to $4.86 bln vs the $4.95 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Same-hospital patient revenue grew 3.2% in the fourth quarter and reflects a 3.7% increase in revenue per adjusted admission partially offset by a 0.5% decline in adjusted admissions.
  • Ambulatory Care segment revenue increased 5.9% on a same-facility system-wide basis in the fourth quarter, with cases increasing 1.7% and revenue per case increasing 4.1%.
  • Revenue from Conifer Health Solutions increased 4.7% in the fourth quarter with revenue from third parties increasing 16.0%.
• Trevor Fetter, chairman and chief executive officer, stated, "Demand for higher acuity services in our hospitals drove growth in same-hospital patient revenue and revenue per adjusted admission in the fourth quarter. Our Ambulatory and Conifer Health businesses delivered strong revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth. Our expectations for continued growth in 2017 reflect confidence in our strategy to strengthen our hospital portfolio, expand our network of ambulatory facilities, and solidify Conifer's leadership in healthcare business services." 
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q1, sees Q1 revs of $4.75-4.95 bln vs. $4.9 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.  Adjusted diluted EPS (loss) from continuing operations to be between ($0.60) and ($0.45), which is below the S&P Capital IQ consensus estimate of $0.43
• Co issues guidance for FY17, sees EPS of $1.05-1.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.96 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY17 revs of $19.7-20.1 bln vs. $20 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • The Outlook for 2017 assumes equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates of $145 million to $155 million, electronic health record incentives of $8 million to $10 million, net income attributable to noncontrolling interests of $390 million to $410 million and an average diluted share count of 102 million. In addition, the Outlook assumes that CMS will approve the proposed California Provider Fee for the 30-month period from January 2017 through June 2019 during the fourth quarter of 2017 and further assumes that the Company will record approximately $220 million to $230 million of revenue and Adjusted EBITDA during 2017 as a result of this program.