Universal Health Services beats second-quarter profit estimates on higher hospital admissions

Universal Health Services

24/07/2024 22:52

July 24 (Reuters) - Hospital operator Universal Health
Services  UHS.N  beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter
profit on Wednesday, helped by higher patient admissions.
    Shares of the company were up 6.2% at $197.50 after the
bell.  
    The hospital operator also raised its annual adjusted profit
forecast to $15.40 to $16.20 per share, compared to its previous
estimate of $13 to $14 per share.
    Hospital operators have been benefiting from an uptick in
demand for medical care, especially from older adults - which
was delayed during the pandemic.
    The Pennsylvania-based company reported an adjusted profit
of $4.31 per share for the three months ended June 30, compared
with analysts' estimate of $3.28 per share, according to LSEG
data.
    Same facility adjusted admissions in the second quarter
increased by 3.4% at acute care hospitals and fell by 0.4% at
behavioral health care facilities.
    The company's quarterly revenue rose 10.1% to $3.91 billion,
beating analysts' estimate of $3.86 billion. 
    Larger peer HCA Healthcare  HCA.N , the largest for-profit
hospital operator in the United States, raised its annual profit
forecast on Tuesday, expecting strong demand and volumes to
continue through the remainder of the year.
    Universal Health Services now expects 2024 revenue in the
range on $15.57 billion to $15.75 billion; analysts on average
were expecting $15.59 billion. 

 (Reporting by Unnamalai L and Sneha S K in Bengaluru; Editing
by Alan Barona)
 ((Unnamalai.L@thomsonreuters.com;))