Martin Jackson
Analyst · RBC Capital
Thanks, Bob. Good morning. For the second quarter, our operating expenses, which include our cost of service, general and administrative costs and bad debt expense increased 6.9% to $641.3 million compared to the same quarter last year. As a percentage of our net revenue, operating expenses for the quarter decreased 30 basis points to 85.5% compared to 85.8% in the same quarter last year.
Costs of services, a major component of which is labor were $612.7 million in the second-quarter. As a percent of net revenue, cost of services was 81.7% for the second quarter. This compares to 81.5% in the same quarter last year. The increase in cost of services as a percentage of net operating revenue resulted primarily from increased relative labor cost in our Outpatient Rehabilitation segment. This increase in relative labor cost resulted from the increased labor costs associated with the Baylor JV services agreement, increased staffing in our rehabilitation clinics and lower productivity in our contract services business. A cost associated with contracted labor services provided to the Baylor JV in both of our business segments had a 70-basis point negative impact on our cost of services in the quarter. Excluding these costs, cost of services would've been 81% in the quarter compared to 81.1% in the same quarter last year.
G&A expense was $18.6 million in the second quarter which as a percentage net revenue was 2.5% compared to $16.1 million or 2.3% of revenue for the same quarter last year. The primary reason for the increase in G&A is associated with the write-offs of cost associated with the senior note offering we withdrew from during the quarter and increased executive compensation.
Bad debt as a percentage of net revenue was 1.3% for the second quarter compared to 2% for the same quarter last year. The decrease in bad debt as a percent of revenue occurred across both of our operating segments and is attributable to the favorable collections experienced in accounts receivable during the quarter.
As Bob mentioned, total adjusted EBITDA was $110.3 million for the second quarter, and adjusted EBITDA margins was 14.7% compared to adjusted EBITDA of $99.9 million and 14.3% adjusted EBITDA margins in the same quarter last year. Depreciation and amortization expense was $15.4 million in the second quarter compared to depreciation and amortization expense of $18 million in the same quarter last year. The decline in our depreciation and amortization expense is primarily the result of decreases in depreciation expense related to the assets acquired from HealthSouth which is now been fully depreciated.
We generated $2.8 million in equity and earnings during the quarter, primarily attributable to the earnings from the Baylor JV compared to a loss in the same quarter last year of $251,000.
Interest expense, net of interest income, was $23.8 million in the second quarter, down from $25.2 million in the same quarter last year. The reduction in interest expense is related to the lower interest rates on portions of the debt we refinanced during the second quarter of last year, as well as lower average debt levels compared to the same quarter last year.
The company recorded income tax expense of $27.7 million in the second quarter which represents an effective tax rate of 38.2%. This compares to an effective rate of 44.4% in the same quarter last year. The decline in our effective tax rate is primarily the result of a higher effective tax rate in the same quarter last year associated with a hospital swap we have completed in January of 2011, a reduction in the provision for uncertain tax positions and a lower effective state tax rate.
Net income attributable to Select Medical Holdings was $43.2 million in the second quarter, and fully diluted earning per share was $0.31. We ended the quarter with $1.35 billion of debt outstanding and $21.5 million of cash on the balance sheet. Our debt at the end of the quarter included $834.3 million of term loans outstanding, which is net of OID; $345 million of the 7 5/8 senior subnotes; $167.3 million of a holdco senior floating rate notes; and the balance of $7.3 million consisting of miscellaneous debt.
Operating activities provided $110.6 million of cash flow in the second quarter compared to $88.6 million in the second quarter last year. The provision of operating cash flow in the second quarter this year was primarily the result of cash earnings, reductions in our accounts receivable, and increases in our accrued expenses, which was offset in part by reductions in our accounts payable and deferred taxes. Overall, we experienced a decline in days sales outstanding to 51 days as of June 30, 2012, and this compares to 57 days as of March 31, 2012.
The decrease is primarily related to the timing of the periodic interim payments we received from Medicare for the services provided in our Specialty Hospitals.
Operating activities provided $118.8 million of cash flow year-to-date. This compares to $83.5 million in the same period last year. The provision of cash was primarily the result of cash earnings, increased in income and deferred taxes and increases in our accrued expenses, offset in part by reduction in our accounts receivable and accounts payable.
Investing activities used $18.6 million of cash flow in the second quarter. The use of cash was related to property improvements and equipment purchases of $16.2 million, business investment payments of $2.2 million and acquisition-related payments of $200,000. Investing activities used $21.6 million of cash flow year-to-date. The use of cash was related to property improvements and equipment purchases of $27.9 million, business investment payments of $10 million related primarily to the additional investment in the Baylor JV, and $200,000 in acquisition related payments. The use of cash was offset by $16.5 million in proceeds related to the sale of the building.
Financing activities used $79.8 million of cash in the second quarter. The use of cash resulted from $55 million in net repayments on our revolving credit facility; $21.1 million in repurchases of common stock; $2.8 million in payments on other debt; $2.1 million amortization payment on our term loan; and $600,000 in distributions from noncontrolling interest; offset in part by $1.2 million in proceeds from bank overdrafts, and $500,000 of stock issuance proceeds.
Financing activities used $87.7 million of cash year-to-date. The use of cash resulted from $40 million in net repayments on our revolving credit facility; $46.8 million in repurchase of common stock; $4.2 million of amortization payments on the term loan; and $1.7 million in distributions to noncontrolling interest, offset in part by $3.7 million in proceeds from bank overdrafts; $800,000 in net borrowings of other debt; and $500,000 in proceeds from the issuance of common stock.
During the second quarter, we repurchased 2,522,090 shares of our common stock in the open market for a total cost of $21.1 million for an average price of $8.35 including transaction cost.
Through June, we have spent a total of $163.6 million of the $250 million authorized under the share repurchase program to repurchase 22,490,389 shares of common stock, at an average purchase price of $7.28 per share including transaction cost.
In our earnings release, we also provided revised guidance for 2012, which includes net revenue in the range of $2.9 billion to $2.975 billion; adjusted EBITDA in the range of $400 million to $410 million; and EPS in the range of $1.01 to $1.06 for fully diluted share.
And finally, as many of you are aware, last week, we initiated an offering to our lenders to raise up to $150 million in additional senior secured debt to refinance a portion of our $345 million existing 7 5/8% senior subnote that are due in 2015. We expect to update the market when the deal is finalized.
This concludes our prepared remarks. And at this time, we'd like to turn it back to the operator to open up the call for questions.