in KAHI
in NCSS
Thursday September 30, 4:52 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: NCS HealthCare, Inc.
NCS HealthCare Affirms Earnings Projections for
Fiscal 2000
CLEVELAND, Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- NCS HealthCare, Inc. (Nasdaq: NCSS - news) announced today that the
Company continues to be comfortable with consensus analyst earnings estimates of $0.40 per diluted share for the fiscal year
ending June 30, 2000.
Kevin B. Shaw, President and CEO of NCS HealthCare stated, ''Based on evidence of stabilization of Medicare patient
census at customer facilities, and the progress we are making internally, we find no reason to alter the earnings guidance
provided by us on June 30. While we do not as yet have September results, the declining revenue trends of the April through
June period appear to have ended.''
The Company experienced its first quarter of sequential revenue decline in its quarter ended June 30, 1999 primarily due to the
implementation of Medicare's Prospective Payment System (PPS). Under the new reimbursement structure, Medicare pays
nursing homes a flat rate for all services, making nursing homes less inclined to admit residents that have complex medical
needs. This change resulted in reduced Medicare A census in client facilities and an overall decrease in the level of acuity of the
residents in these facilities.
Mr. Shaw continued, ''Since assuming the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer in mid-June, Bill Byrum has led the
operations team in making significant progress in executing our restructuring plan. Staff has been reduced by over 200 people,
and three pharmacy sites have been consolidated. Cost savings to date amount to $8 million on an annualized basis.
''We will continue to aggressively drive down costs and rationalize our business over coming months. Although PPS is creating
some gross margin pressure, we are confident in our ability to generate offsetting efficiency improvements.''
NCS HealthCare will report its fiscal first quarter 2000 results on November 4, 1999.
NCS HealthCare, Inc. is a leading provider of pharmaceutical and related services to long-term care facilities, including skilled
nursing centers, assisted living facilities and hospitals. NCS serves more than 262,000 residents of long-term care facilities in 34
states and manages hospital pharmacies in 23 states.
|
