Air Methods Announces Year 2003 Financial Results and Year 2004 Outlook
Thursday March 11, 7:01 am ET
Fourth Quarter Net Income Per Basic Share of $0.16 Reflects 33% Increase Company Targets Greater than 20% Growth in 2004 EPS
DENVER, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Air Methods Corporation (Nasdaq: AIRM - News), the largest air medical transportation company in the world, reported revenue and net income for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2003.
For the year, revenue increased 86% to $242.5 million compared to $130.7 million in the prior year. Net income decreased slightly to $5.1 million or $0.53 per basic share ($0.51 per diluted share) compared to $5.2 million or $0.56 per basic share ($0.54 per diluted share). The current year results reflect a full year of operations of Rocky Mountain Holdings, LLC (RMH), while the prior year included only two and a half months of combined operations. As previously disclosed, the decrease in net income was primarily attributed to a significant increase in missed transports due to weather.
For the quarter, revenue increased to $65.7 million as compared with $47.7 million during the prior year period, a 38% increase. This increase was primarily attributed to revenues generated from new base expansion within the community-based operations, as well as having a full quarter of activity in 2003 from the RMH acquisition, which closed on October 16, 2002. Patients transported within the community-based operations increased by over 50% to 7,085 from 4,709 in the prior year quarter.
The Company generated fourth quarter net income of $1.6 million or $0.16 per basic share ($0.15 per diluted share) as compared to prior-year quarterly net income of $1.1 million or $0.12 per basic share ($0.11 per diluted share). This reflects a 47% increase in net income and a 33% increase in net income per basic share as compared with the prior-year quarter.
Aaron Todd, CEO of Air Methods, commented, "With the cessation of severe weather patterns, we are pleased to have achieved earnings per basic share of $0.45 during the second half of 2003. The consolidation and integration of RMH operations and continued organic expansion within all three of our operating divisions were keys to this accomplishment. I am deeply appreciative of the efforts of our team in addressing the challenges of consolidating the RMH operation, which was nearly equal our size, while at the same time continuing to grow the core businesses."
The increase in net income for the quarter was primarily attributed to a $972,000 increase in segment net income (excluding internal sales) within the Products Division. In addition, quarterly net income was favorably impacted by an increase of more than 14% in patients transported from community bases, including RMH bases, which were in operation for over one year (Same Base Transports). Bad debt expense as a percentage of community-based revenue was 25.5% for the current-year quarter as compared with 18.4% in the prior-year quarter and 24.2% in the third quarter of 2003. The quarterly earnings were also impacted by maintenance expense which exceeded budget expectations by over $1.2 million.
The Company also announced that it has established a goal to increase basic earnings per share for 2004 by 20% or more. This goal is based, in part, on projected increases in flight volume due to the severity of weather patterns experienced during the first half of 2003, and on expected increased contributions from new base expansion within the community-based operations. The Company noted, however, that this outlook is contingent on stable collection rates for patients transported within its community-based operations and more favorable weather patterns than occurred during the first half of 2003. While Same Base Transports during January and February 2004 increased by over 17% due to more temperate weather patterns, collections were lower than expected during the same period.
Mr. Todd continued, "I am optimistic that we can continue this growth trend in both top line and bottom line in 2004. While fluctuations within our collection rates are inherent within our operations and are affected by external economic factors, we believe recent and projected strength in patient transport volume and improved contributions from prior year expansion activities should offset the recent softness in collection rates."
The Company will discuss these results and its outlook for 2004 in a conference call scheduled today at 4:15 p.m. Eastern. Interested parties can access the call by dialing (888) 396-5640 or (706) 643-0580 (international) or by accessing the web cast at www.airmethods.com . A replay of the call will be available at (706) 645-9291, access number 6012188, for 3 days following the call; and the web cast can be accessed at www.airmethods.com for 30 days. |
