in2lite
18 years ago
PR posted 05.04.06:
Health Grades, Inc. Announces First Quarter Results
Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD)
-- Quarterly Revenues Grow 30% from prior year
-- HealthGrades confirms annual forecast
-- Conference call to be held at 9 a.m. MT/11 a.m. ET
Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq: HGRD), the leading independent healthcare ratings company, today announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2006. Revenues for the quarter increased 30% to approximately $6.1 million compared to $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2005. Net income for the first quarter of 2006 was approximately $398,000, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to approximately $555,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, for the same period of 2005.
Net income for the first quarter of 2006 reflects a tax expense of approximately $349,000. The Company did not record an income tax expense during the first quarter of 2005 as the Company utilized net operating loss carryforwards that were subject to a full valuation allowance, which offset any tax expense that otherwise would have been recorded. For the first quarter of 2006, the Company's effective income tax rate was approximately 47%, which was higher than the 42% rate that the Company expects for the year due to the impact in the first quarter of non-deductible compensation expense related to incentive stock options.
Income from operations was approximately $609,000 for the first quarter of 2006, an increase of approximately $75,000 from approximately $534,000 in the same period of 2005. Operating expenses grew from approximately $3.4 million during the three months ended March 31, 2005, to approximately $4.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2006. The increase in operating expenses occurred principally due to the hiring of additional personnel during the latter part of 2005, increased legal fees and the Company's adoption of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R, Share-Based Payment, which resulted in additional stock-based compensation costs. During 2005, the Company's employee count increased from 67 employees at December 31, 2004, to 106 employees at December 31, 2005. Approximately one-half of the personnel additions related to personnel additions in the Company's sales and marketing, client consulting and client support personnel and half related to personnel additions in the Company's product development area. Income before taxes increased 35% to approximately $747,000 from $555,000 in the first quarter 2005, reflecting the benefit of $137,000 in interest income as compared to $20,000 in the first quarter of 2005.
HealthGrades completed the quarter ended March 31, 2006, with approximately $13.9 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, a 19% increase over the balance at December 31, 2005.
Beginning with this press release, the Company is providing revenue information with respect to three business areas: Provider Services, Internet Business Group and Strategic Health Solutions. Our Provider Services revenue, which includes sales from hospital marketing products and quality improvement products, as well as revenue from our consultant-reimbursed travel, accounted for approximately $1.3 million, or 90% of the overall ratings and advisory revenue increase. The increase reflects increased sales of our marketing products as well as an increase in our contract retention rates over the same period of 2005. The Company's Internet Business Group revenue, which includes the sale of HealthGrades' quality reports to consumers, revenue from the Company's Patient-Provider Gateway product and any website advertising and sponsorship revenue, increased approximately $0.1 million over the first quarter 2005, representing 9% of the increase in total ratings and advisory revenue. This increase is principally due to the Company's increased sales of its quality reports to consumers, which management believes resulted from increased website traffic. The Company's Strategic Health Solutions revenue, which includes sales of its quality information to employers, benefit consultants, health plans and others as well as any sales of the Company's data, was consistent with the same period of 2005.
Kerry Hicks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Grades, Inc., stated: "Our first quarter results were in line with our expectations. We are pleased with the continued growth from our Provider Services products and we are excited about our first system-wide hospital contract for our Patient-Provider Gateway product that was announced earlier this morning. We believe that this contract will encourage others to adopt this product as physicians will see the substantial value of this program. In addition, as we announced late last year, we have enhanced our leadership and sales team with respect to our Strategic Health Solutions products. This team has been working to focus our quality ratings suite application on the consumer driven health movement with employers, benefit consultants and health plans."
HealthGrades also confirmed its annual revenue forecast of an increase of at least 40% over 2005 and an operating margin of approximately 25% in 2006.
As previously announced, HealthGrades will hold a conference call to discuss first quarter financial results today, at 9:00 a.m. Mountain time/11:00 a.m. Eastern time. If you would like to participate, please dial 800-446-2782 ten minutes before the scheduled start time. The conference call confirmation number is 14499785, the host name is Allen Dodge, and the company is HealthGrades. The telephone replay will be available beginning one hour after the conclusion of the teleconference at 888-843-8996, passcode 14499785, and will remain available for replay until June 4, 2006.
Golden Cross
19 years ago
HealthGrades Launches Nation's First Medical-Care Cost Reports to Help Consumers Shop for Healthcare
Monday March 20, 7:30 am ET
"List Price" and Health Plan Rates Available for Consumers on HealthGrades.com, and in Product Suite for Large Employers
GOLDEN, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 20, 2006--"List Price" of Childbirth in Northeast Nearly Twice
Price in the West, HealthGrades Analysis Shows
For the first time, consumers can obtain pricing information for more than 55 hospital-based procedures across the country with the new HealthGrades Medical-Care Cost Reports launched today at the Web site of HealthGrades, the leading healthcare ratings company. Together with HealthGrades' hospital-quality ratings and physician-quality reports, consumers can now shop for healthcare providers utilizing both quality and cost information at one Web site: www.HealthGrades.com.
The Medical-Care Cost Reports contain, among other information, three dollar amounts for an entire episode of care:
List Price: The average amount charged by the provider of care;
Health Plan Portion: The amount negotiated, on average, by health plans. Nationally, this is approximately 45% of the list price amount, however, this varies by region from 39% in the Northeast to 58% in the West; and
Out-of-Pocket Fee: For individuals with insurance, this is the average portion that they would pay.
"While President Bush and the new consumer-directed health plans are asking consumers to shop around for the best healthcare value, surveys show that the majority of people have no idea what the cost of a medical procedure is until the bill arrives," said Kerry Hicks, HealthGrades' CEO. "Now for the first time, HealthGrades will help individuals approach the healthcare system as value-conscious consumers, armed with pricing information along with quality ratings, so that they can make smarter choices."
The Medical-Care Cost Reports provide detailed charges, health plan payments and out-of-pocket cost information on the entire episode of care for more than 55 procedures, ranging from baby deliveries to bypass surgeries. The information for each episode of care includes hospital fees as well as outpatient, physician, laboratory and drug fees, both individually and combined. Each report, customized by region, age and gender, is designed to help individuals plan for their care, understand their potential financial liabilities, and shop for the best price.
In general, the average list price of procedures is the lowest in the West and the highest in the South. For example, gastric-bypass surgery has a list price of $35,600 in the West, compared with $59,500 in the South. Another example is that the average list price for the delivery of a baby, without complications, is $6,700 in Western states, compared with $12,400 in the Northeast. Overall, prices (list price or charge) in the South are 11 percent higher than the average, and 43 percent higher than the least-expensive region, the West. List prices are typically paid only by those without insurance coverage; health plans negotiate lower rates with providers of care, such as hospitals and physicians.
The average amounts negotiated by health plans are on average the lowest in the Northeast and highest in the Midwest. Average out-of-pocket fees (paid by insured patients) also vary widely by region. They are highest in the West, most likely due to the strong influence of managed care in this region, and lowest in the Northeast. As an example, the average out-of-pocket amount in the West is almost double what it is in the Northeast.
The variation in fees is even greater for some specific procedures. Actual out-of-pocket costs for the consumer with insurance vary widely as well, with procedures in the Northeast 49 percent lower, on average, than in the West. One stark example of this variation is the out-of-pocket costs for defibrillator implants: In the Northeast, the average out-of-pocket cost for the procedure and its related elements is $2,100; in the Midwest, it is $9,200.
HealthGrades' Medical-Care Cost Reports are being offered at HealthGrades.com for $7.95 each. HealthGrades' hospital ratings of 28 procedures and diagnoses at each of the nation's more than 5,000 nonfederal hospitals remain free on the Web site. In-depth hospital, physician or nursing-home reports are also available at the Web site for a fee.
"For anyone figuring out their FSA, HSA, or HRA contributions, planning for a hospitalization, or negotiating the costs of an upcoming procedure, HealthGrades' Medical-Care Cost Reports provide valuable information that has not been available before," continued Mr. Hicks. "The new era of consumer-driven healthcare is here, and HealthGrades will continue to offer easy-to-use information to help consumers, employers and health plans adapt and thrive in this new environment."
The HealthGrades Medical-Care Cost Reports are based on information from more than 55 million unique individuals covered by more than 80 health plans, reflecting actual prices of episodes of care as well as actual out-of-pocket costs for health plan members.
Subscription-based access to the HealthGrades' Medical-Care Cost Reports are also being added to the Quality Ratings Suite, HealthGrades online application for large employers, benefits consultants and health plans. The Quality Ratings Suite provides healthcare ratings, cost calculators, comparison tools and interactive healthcare guides to help employees and members obtain better healthcare.
More than 2.5 million individuals visit HealthGrades.com each month to research the quality of local hospitals, doctors and nursing homes. That number has nearly doubled in the last year, a trend the company attributes, in part, to the rise of consumer-directed health plans. In addition, the number of large companies providing HealthGrades' healthcare ratings and cost information directly to their employees, through HealthGrades' Quality Ratings Suite continues to grow, and now includes 75 of the Fortune 500.
About HealthGrades
Health Grades, Inc. (Nasdaq:HGRD - News) is the leading healthcare ratings organization, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals. Millions of consumers and hundreds of the nation's largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades' independent ratings and decision-support resources to make healthcare decisions based on the quality of care. More information on the company can be found at http://www.healthgrades.com.
Contact:
Health Grades, Inc.
Scott Shapiro, 720-963-6584
sshapiro@healthgrades.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golden Cross
19 years ago
Health Grades, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results; Annual Revenues Grow 43%; Conference Call Scheduled for Today at 4:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday , February 21, 2006 16:09 ET
LAKEWOOD, Colo., Feb 21, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Health Grades, Inc. (the "Company") (Nasdaq: HGRD), an independent provider of healthcare quality ratings, information, and advisory services, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2005. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005, increased 43%, while the Company's operating margin increased by 50%, from 12% for the year ended December 31, 2004, to 19% for the year ended December 31, 2005.
-- Ratings and advisory revenues for the year ended December 31, 2005, increased 43% to $20,794,000 from $14,536,000 for the same period of 2004. HealthGrades' licensing fees and quality assessment and improvement services to hospitals accounted for approximately $4,033,000 or 64% of the increase in revenue; and sales of the Company's quality information to employers, benefits consulting firms, consumers and others accounted for approximately $2,225,000 or 36% of the increase. Revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2005, were $5,891,000 compared to $4,145,000 for the same period of 2004.
-- Income from operations was approximately $3,942,000 for the year ended December 31, 2005, an increase of approximately $2,181,000 from $1,761,000 for the same period of 2004. Sales and marketing expenses increased by $869,000 during 2005. This increase was driven directly by the Company's increase in revenues. Although the Company's revenues increased by 43%, sales and marketing expenses increased by only 18%. As a percentage of revenue, total operating expenses declined from 2004 to 2005.
-- Net income for the year ended 2005 was approximately $4,140,000 or $0.15 per basic share and $0.12 per diluted share, respectively, compared to net income of $1,782,000 or $0.07 per basic share and $0.05 per diluted share, for the same period of 2004. Net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2005, was $811,000 or $0.03 per basic share and $0.02 per diluted share, compared to net income of $515,000 or $0.02 per basic and diluted share for the same period of 2004.
-- HealthGrades completed the year ended December 31, 2005, with approximately $9,682,000 in cash. This represents positive cash flow of approximately $3,528,000 for the year. In addition, as of December 31, 2005, the Company also had $1,988,000 in short-term investments, consisting principally of U.S. government and government agency debt securities with maturity dates of 180 days or less.
Kerry Hicks, President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Grades, Inc., stated: "We are pleased with our results for the year. We experienced strong operating margin expansion as well as significant cash flows. Our operating margins increased by over 50% to 19% for the year ended December 31, 2005. In addition, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments increased over $5.5 million during 2005. As significant as these financial results were some of the strategic investments we made near the end of the year. As we noted previously, we made two strategic hires in our Internet business group and employer and health plan businesses near the end of 2005. We believe these two individuals give us additional strength in their respective areas. We look forward to 2006 and are excited about the many initiatives we currently have underway."
Conference Call Details
As previously announced, HealthGrades will hold a conference call to discuss results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2005, today, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time/2:30 p.m. Mountain time. If you would like to participate, please dial 800-588-4973 ten minutes before the scheduled start time. The conference call confirmation number is 13808775, the host name is Allen Dodge, and the Company is HealthGrades. The telephone replay will be available beginning one hour after the conclusion of the teleconference at 888-843-8996, passcode 13808775, and will remain available for replay until March 21, 2006.
HEALTH GRADES, INC.
Statements of Operations
Three Months Ended Year Ended
December 31, December 31,
2005 2004 2005 2004
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Revenues:
Ratings and
advisory $5,891,218 $4,145,274 $20,794,173 $14,536,304
Other 19 44 13,333 1,447
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Total revenue 5,891,237 4,145,318 20,807,506 14,537,751
Expenses:
Cost of ratings
and advisory
revenue 864,962 626,964 3,168,668 2,488,202
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Gross margin 5,026,275 3,518,354 17,638,838 12,049,549
Operating expenses:
Sales and
marketing 1,854,245 1,391,195 5,801,590 4,932,210
Product
development 751,159 624,940 3,035,728 2,017,441
General and
administrative 1,180,143 999,034 4,859,096 3,339,298
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Income from
operations 1,240,728 503,185 3,942,424 1,760,600
Other:
Gain on sale of
assets and
other -- 53 1,405 --
Interest income 91,983 12,109 205,124 21,543
Interest expense (101) -- (763) --
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Income before
income taxes 1,332,610 515,347 4,148,190 1,782,143
Income tax
expense (521,907) -- (8,337) --
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Net income $810,703 $515,347 $4,139,853 $1,782,143
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Net income per
common share
(basic) $0.03 $0.02 $0.15 $0.07
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Weighted average
number of common
shares used in
computation (basic) 27,756,808 25,253,553 27,039,057 25,058,173
=========== =========== ============ ============
Net income per
common share
(diluted) $0.02 $0.02 $0.12 $0.05
----------- ----------- ------------ ------------
Weighted average
number of common
shares used in
computation
(diluted) 34,874,073 33,836,726 34,833,521 33,031,087
=========== =========== ============ ============
HEALTH GRADES, INC.
Balance Sheets
December 31, December 31,
2005 2004
------------ ------------
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents $9,682,106 $6,153,862
Short-term investments 1,988,154 --
Accounts receivable, net 5,620,736 3,034,375
Prepaid expenses and other 562,540 253,839
Deferred income taxes 1,080,562 --
------------ ------------
Total current assets 18,934,098 9,442,076
Property and equipment, net 1,595,065 382,870
Intangible assets, net 177,729 --
Goodwill 3,106,181 3,106,181
Deferred income taxes 31,400 --
------------ ------------
Total assets $23,844,473 $12,931,127
============ ============
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Accounts payable $278,912 $44,035
Accrued payroll, incentive compensation and
related expenses 1,525,844 1,178,581
Accrued expenses 275,865 322,777
Current portion of capital lease obligations 1,310 --
Current portion of deferred rent 70,263 --
Deferred revenue 11,742,827 7,729,195
Income taxes payable 15,020 71,298
------------ ------------
Total current liabilities 13,910,041 9,345,886
Long-term portion of capital lease
obligations 5,254 --
Long-term portion of deferred rent 311,599 --
------------ ------------
Total liabilities 14,226,894 9,345,886
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 2,000,000
shares authorized, no shares issued or
outstanding -- --
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000
shares authorized, and 47,674,779 and
44,880,176 shares issued in 2005 and 2004,
respectively 47,674 44,880
Additional paid-in-capital 91,984,099 90,094,408
Accumulated deficit (68,646,614) (72,786,467)
Treasury stock, 19,563,390 shares (13,767,580) (13,767,580)
------------ ------------
Total stockholders' equity 9,617,579 3,585,241
------------ ------------
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity $23,844,473 $12,931,127
============ ============
HealthGrades (Nasdaq: HGRD) is the leading healthcare ratings company, providing ratings and profiles of hospitals, nursing homes and physicians to consumers, corporations, health plans and hospitals. Consumers and some of the nation's largest employers, health plans and hospitals rely on HealthGrades' independent ratings to make healthcare decisions based on the quality of care. More information on the company can be found at http://www.healthgrades.com.
SOURCE: HealthGrades
HealthGrades
Allen Dodge, 303-716-0041
ir@healthgrades.com
Copyright Business Wire 2006