Earnings roundup: Lincare, SleepQuest

CLEARWATER, Fla. - Lincare last week reported net revenues of $422.1 million for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010, a 4% increase over net revenues of $405.8 million for the same period in 2009. Net income was $46.1 million vs. $40.6 million, a 13.4% increase.

For the quarter, Lincare credited the increase to 8% internal and acquisition growth offset by about 4% negative impact from $16 million of Medicare payment changes.

Lincare reported net revenues of $1.669 billion for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011, a 7.7% increase over net revenues of $1.55 billion in 2009. Net income was $181.6 million vs. $136.1 million, a 33.4% increase.

For the year, Lincare credited the increase to 9.9% internal and acquisition growth offset by about 2.2% negative impact from $34.9 million of Medicare payment changes in 2010.

Lincare remains committed to increasing its market share in its core respiratory product lines and expanding through organic investment and selective acquisitions, CEO John Byrnes stated in a release.

"As the nation's leading provider of chronic respiratory disease management therapies in the home setting, we serve a growing population of chronically ill seniors that require our continuous support through the progression of their disease," he stated. "As a home-based provider of cost-efficient health care services to our nation's seniors delivered through our national network of local distributions and sales centers, we offer an attractive and preferred alternative that can avoid or delay high-cost acute and facility-based care."

SleepQuest on fast track

SAN CARLOS, Calif. - SleepQuest saw its earnings grow in 2010, and the provider has no plans to slow down, it announced last week.

SleepQuest did not release figures, but it said that its fourth quarter earnings for 2010 were up 44% over the same time period in 2009.

"2010 was an extraordinary year for SleepQuest as we continued our national expansion and expanded operations," stated President and CEO Robert Koenigsberg in a release.

To that end, the company has appointed a new vice president of business strategy and development, Gary Corbett. Corbett has previous experience in national obstructive sleep apnea diagnostic services.

"With over a decade focused on delivering medical services and products directly to patients in their home, (Corbett) has a wealth of experience and new ideas to make healthcare more efficient and affordable" stated Koenigsberg.

SleepQuest has also named David Goldsmith and Donald Nelson to the company's independent board of directors. Goldsmith served as chairman of the board for Apria when it was acquired by The Blackstone Group for $1.7 billion in 2008. Nelson is an investment banker and venture capitalist, and he has advised companies in the completion of over $6 billion in mergers and acquisitions, according the press release.