SunLink Health Systems, Inc. (NYSE Amex: SSY) today announced earnings from continuing operations for its fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2009 of $549,000, or $0.07 per fully diluted share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $603,000, or $0.08 per fully diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2008. Included in the results for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2009 is the pre-tax gain of $2,342,000 from the September 2009 sale of three home health businesses.
SunLink reported net earnings of $496,000, or $0.06 per fully diluted share for the quarter ended September 30, 2009, compared to a net loss of $664,000, or $0.08 per fully diluted share for the comparable quarter a year ago.
Consolidated net revenues from continuing operations for the quarters ended September 30, 2009 increased by 2.5% to $47,825,000 compared to $46,678,000 in the comparable period a year ago. The Specialty Pharmacy Segment net revenues of $10,332,000 in the quarter ended September 30, 2009 increased $721,000, or 7.5% from the prior year. The Healthcare Facilities Segment net revenues of $37,493,000 in the current quarter increased $426,000, or 1.1%, from the prior year and included $337,000 from state indigent care programs and positive prior year third-party payor settlements compared to $678,000 in the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
The company reported operating profit from continuing operations for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 of $2,048,000 compared to an operating profit for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 of $78,000. Included in operating profit in the current year is the pre-tax gain of $2,342,000 on the sale of the home health businesses. Excluding this gain, the operating profit in the current year decreased $372,000, primarily due to increased bad debt expense for the Healthcare Facilities Segment. In the quarter ended September 30, 2009 the provision for bad debts as a percentage of net revenue for the Healthcare Facilities Segment increased to 17.1% from 14.4% last year, or approximately $1,073,000. Adjusted EBITDA at SunLink’s Healthcare Facilities Segment (a non-GAAP measure of the liquidity of a company) in the first fiscal quarter decreased to $1,829,000 from $2,566,000 in the comparable quarter a year ago. Adjusted EBITDA for SunLink’s Specialty Pharmacy Segment increased to $660,000 from $622,000 in the comparable quarter a year ago.