Barry Port
Analyst · Stifel. Please go ahead
Good morning everyone. We're happy to report that our local operators continue to drive impressive results. We are honored to be affiliated with so many outstanding caregivers and healthcare leaders and their collective efforts have led to another strong quarter with GAAP earnings per share for the quarter of $0.51, an increase of 24% over the prior year quarter and adjusted earnings per share of $0.54, up 23% over the prior year quarter. Our organic growth this quarter has again come from the steady improvement in the organization's most mature operations as well as an increasingly positive contribution from our transitioning and newly acquired operations. While we are pleased with our progress, we've only begun to approach or potential in about half the states in which we operate not to mention the tremendous opportunities from our disciplined acquisition strategy. Our local leaders in newer states are working diligently to implement proven practices that have consistently led to stronger clinical and financial results and we are confident that as they do so, these newer markets will soon become enormous positive contributors to our collective results. And what we've said many times before remains as true today as it did several years ago, we still see a very clear pathway to unlock the extraordinary potential that remains within our existing portfolio, including within our same-store and transitioning operations not to mention the vast opportunities for future disciplined acquisitions. These results are due to the collective impact of the improvements made by dozens of operations built on a foundation of high-quality health care outcomes strong regulatory results enhanced efforts in collections and strengthened relationships with managed care providers. Let me give you an example. In 2017, our Idaho group acquired Meadow View Nursing and Rehabilitation in Nampa, Idaho. As is often the case, the operation was losing money and had significant clinical challenges. Enter CEO, Chase Gunderson; and COO, Jeremy Withers. Chase and Jeremy immediately embraced the staff and engaged them on an impressive journey to reposition themselves in the market. They obtained state approval for a specialized behavioral program, while enhancing their ability to provide excellent rehabilitation and other skilled services to meet their community's needs. This year they have improved revenues by over 18% and earnings by over 75% over the prior year quarter on a higher occupancy and skilled mix all while maintaining a CMS four-star rating and employee turnover rate of 10%. Our unique entrepreneurial culture and history of incubating other post-acute and health care businesses continued during the quarter. By applying these same principles that have led to consistent results in our skilled nursing operations, Cornerstone Healthcare Inc. our home health and hospice venture grew its segment revenue and income by 22% and 17% respectively over the prior year quarter. One example of their growth was seen at Hospice of the Pines located in Prescott, Arizona, led by Executive Director, Brad Schaeffer; and Director of Clinical Services [indiscernible] this agency achieved outstanding results during the quarter with an increase in revenue of 28% and earnings growth of 74% each over the prior year quarter. Hospice of the Pines success is the result of the team full of talented clinicians, who have developed strong community relationships and their commitment to clinical excellence resulted in a deficiency-free survey. With some of the highest employee satisfaction ratings in the organization, these caregivers have engaged with local hospital systems and senior living communities in the Prescott and Sedona areas in a meaningful way. They love what they do, and it shows in their growth as a leading provider in that market. Let me highlight one last example of our local leaders driving impressive growth in our senior living operations. Desert View Senior Living is an assisted living and memory care community in Las Vegas, Nevada led by Executive Director, Paul Ortega; and Wellness Director, Joseph Rank. Following the example of these dedicated leaders, the Desert View team has become a force in their local community. They fund specific feedback from these community partners. They implemented a carefully tailed plan to expand their memory care service offering. This relentless focus on serving their community's needs led to a second quarter revenue increase of 26% and an EBIT increase of 158% in addition to improving their overall occupancy by 16 percentage points all over the prior year quarter. We are seeing dozens of examples of growth just like these in each of our business segments, as we acquire underperforming operations and drive organic growth. As we will discuss in more detail in a few minutes, we believe the proposed transaction we announced in May will both accelerate the growth of these businesses, while also allowing our shareholders direct access to the inherent value in these lines of business. Our second quarter results are on schedule with what we expected when we increased our 2019 annual earnings guidance last quarter. And therefore, we are reaffirming our annual earnings guidance of between $2.22 and $2.30 per diluted share and our annual revenue guidance of between $2.34 billion and $2.4 billion. Overall, the midpoint of this guidance represents a 20% or $0.38 per share increase over our 2018 annual earnings. We are very excited about our first and second quarter performance in the coming year. We remind you again that our guidance favors the second half of the year, but we are confident that each leader -- as each leader continues to adjust to local market conditions, we will carry this momentum forward. As we take a minute to look back on the last few quarters, the primary drivers of our strong results are high-quality health care outcomes, stronger occupancy, strong regulatory results and consistent collection efforts. In addition, the partnerships between our local clusters and managed care companies and their markets continues to be an advantage. Our focus isn't just on skilled occupancy, it's developing an appropriate mix across all peer types that fit the unique needs of the markets we serve. We hope that these results will continue to show that even in a period, where occupancies across the industry are down, we are able to consistently drive results across all peer types including Medicaid, Medicare, managed care and private pay. Thanks to our distinctive local leadership model and our disciplined real estate investments and acquisitions, we are confident that this performance is sustainable over the long-term. And with that, I'll ask Chad to give us an update on our recent investment activity. Chad?