Sun Healthcare Group rises on Q2 profit increase
Shares of Sun Healthcare Group Inc. (Nasdaq: SUNH) are looking vigorous following news after Wednesday’s close that the provider of specialty healthcare services reported a rise in second-quarter profit.
The net income for the three months ended June 30 was $13.0 million, or $0.30 per share, more than double the $0.14-per-share consensus estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial. During the same period of 2006, Sun Healthcare Group booked a profit of $7.3 million, or $0.23 per share.
Total revenues increased a whopping 73% to $446.7 million, from $258.5 million a year earlier.
This is the first quarter after the purchase of nursing and long-term care company Harborside Healthcare, for which Sun Healthcare paid $349.4 million in cash and about $240 million in assumed debt. The deal closed in April 2007.
“We believe this acquisition has completed the transformation of the company’s asset base, thereby providing us with a platform from which we can generate respectable, organic growth on a go-forward basis,” CEO Richard Matros said. “The integration itself is going as expected.”
Sun Healthcare operates 216 long-term and post-acute care facilities with approximately 23,520 operating beds in 25 states.
At 12:57 p.m. ET shares were up $1.48, or 11%, to $15.39. The 52-week high of $16.13 was achieved on July 17. The 52-week low of $8.65 was set on Aug. 2, 2006.
