Lincare Holdings Inc. (LNCR) said Monday its profit for the first quarter was almost unchanged from the prior year as higher costs offset double-digit growth in sales. Nevertheless, earnings for the quarter topped Street estimates by a penny, while revenues were in line with expectations.
Lincare, which provides home oxygen and other respiratory therapy services, said its revenue for the quarter grew 16 percent from last year. This includes a 17 percent internal and acquisition growth offset by about 1 negative impact from Medicare payment reductions.
John Byrnes, Chief Executive Officer, Lincare said, "...We remain focused on building market share in our core respiratory and other ancillary businesses and driving earnings growth through organic expansion, selective acquisitions and other strategic opportunities."
Lincare reported first-quarter net income of $46.40 million, compared to $46.37 million in the prior year. However on a per share basis, earnings rose to $0.54 from $0.49 per share last year, reflecting a lower share count.
On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.53 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
The Clearwater, Florida-based company posted revenue of $501 million, compared to $431.6 million last year. Analysts expected revenue of $500.85 million.
Nonetheless, the higher revenues were mostly offset by cost of goods that rose to $163.5 million from $124 million a year ago, and operating expenses escalating to $115 million from $102 million.
During the quarter, Lincare repurchased 1.9 million shares of its common stock for $50 million. As at March 31, 201, the company had about 86.36 million shares outstanding.
LNCR closed Monday on the Nasdaq at $24.79, up $0.14 or 0.57%, on a volume of about 1.0 million shares. In after hours the stock dropped 0.56%. In the past year, the stock has ranged between $19.65 and $31.79.
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