DaVita forecasts 2025 profit below estimates, shares plummet

Davita

13/02/2025 23:05

Feb 13 (Reuters) - 
    Dialysis firm DaVita  DVA.N  projected annual profit below
estimates on Thursday due to rising patient care costs, sending
its shares down 11% in after-hours trading.
    The company is grappling with increasing patient care costs
due to higher compensation, health benefits and other direct
operating expenses associated with the closure of its dialysis
centers.
        The Colorado-based firm expects its 2025 adjusted profit
per share to be between $10.20 and $11.30, the midpoint of which
is lower than analysts' average expectation of $11.24 per share,
according to data compiled by LSEG.
  
    DaVita provides services for patients with chronic kidney
failure through a network of outpatient clinics and at-home
dialysis services across the United States.     
    Last quarter, the company said it expected minimal impact
from disruptions caused by recent hurricanes, including a
shortage of intravenous fluids and dialysis products. The
disruptions occurred after a power outage at a Baxter
International  BAX.N  facility due to Hurricane Helene.
    The company has said it expects supply dynamics to normalize
in the first quarter.
    During the three months ended December 31, the company
incurred charges for closures of its U.S. dialysis centers
amounting to about $24.2 million, compared to $18.3 million in
the previous quarter. 
        These closures impacted patient care costs in the fourth
quarter by $17.6 million, up from an impact of $3.5 million in
the third quarter ended September 30, 2024. 
  
    On an adjusted basis, it reported a fourth-quarter profit of
$2.24 per share, above analysts' estimates of $2.13 per share.

   

 (Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by
Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
 ((Christy.Santhosh@thomsonreuters.com;))