NAPLES, Fla., Oct. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Health Management Associates, Inc. announced today that it has updated its financial objectives for the fourth quarter and year ending September 30, 2004 to reflect the estimated impact of Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne. On September 13, 2004, HMA updated its financial objectives for the fourth quarter and year ending September 30, 2004 to reflect the impact of Hurricanes Charley and Frances. At that time, HMA announced that, if warranted by additional storms, it would provide further updates to its 2004 objectives. Based on the impact of Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne, including the extraordinary utility outages, service disruptions, and the subsequent resources required to keep HMA’s Florida hospitals operational, both during and immediately after landfall of each of the storms, management anticipates that the impact to HMA’s earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending September 30, 2004 will be a reduction of up to an additional $0.02 per diluted share. Management is now updating its earnings per share, or EPS, guidance to $0.30 per share for the fourth quarter compared to $0.28 per share for the same quarter a year ago and $1.32 per share for the year ending September 30, 2004, compared to $1.13 for the year ended September 30, 2003, which would be an increase of approximately 17%. HMA’s objectives for fiscal year 2005 will be announced on Tuesday, October 26, 2004.
HMA and its hospitals are insured for property damage and business interruption. HMA has initiated the insurance claims process, and intends to work closely with its insurers during the next several months to finalize and settle all hurricane-related claims. Management expects that HMA will recover all amounts claimed, including claims for property damage and losses due to business interruption, subject to policy deductibles. We believe the uninsured impact from all hurricanes in fiscal 2004 amounts to approximately $9.5 million in lower net income.
“Florida is the first state in more than a century to experience the direct landfall of four hurricanes in a single season, and despite having several hospitals within miles of the worst destruction, our dedicated employees and physicians continued to serve the health care needs of their communities through the worst of the storms,” said Joseph Vumbacco, President and Chief Executive Officer of HMA. “The HMA employees and families affected by these tragedies continue to acknowledge and are grateful for the outpouring of donations and support.”
During the past 60 days, four hurricanes and a tropical storm have made landfall in Florida. The disruption created by these major storms has been felt throughout the state, including by all 14 of HMA’s Florida hospitals. One HMA hospital in South Carolina also suffered hurricane-related damage. Hurricane damage and disruption to HMA hospitals in the affected areas, as well as to employees’ homes, local businesses and physicians’ offices, has been extensive. As a result, the scope of health care services being provided in some of the communities HMA serves has been limited. For example, both of HMA’s Florida Keys hospitals were evacuated and their respective services were suspended for several days as a result of Hurricane Ivan’s anticipated path. In addition, as Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne approached Florida, millions of residents, encompassing dozens of counties, were evacuated from their homes. Furthermore, many tourists and seasonal residents have left the state, and the timing of their return is uncertain.
“HMA made preparations at its hospitals located in the anticipated paths of these storms to ensure that water and electrical services remained operational in the event of the loss of normal utility services,” added Vumbacco. “HMA contractors were maintained in a state of readiness and, immediately after each storm, were mobilized to those HMA facilities hardest hit in order to quickly repair damaged structures. HMA clinical employees were also mobilized and dispatched to assist those sister HMA hospitals hardest hit by the storms. The disaster preparation drills and the rapid- response mobilization processes followed by HMA’s contractors and clinical personnel were responsible for crucial continuities of service. Full recovery will take time, but we believe that HMA’s efforts during and after the storms signals our commitment to rebuilding health care services close to home in the affected communities.”
HMA is the premier operator of non-urban general acute care hospitals in communities situated throughout the United States. HMA has generated 15 years of uninterrupted operating earnings growth and upon completing the previously announced exchange of 76-bed Williamson Memorial Hospital for 56-Bed Bartow Memorial Hospital, will operate 53 hospitals in 15 states with approximately 7,526 licensed beds.
All references to “HMA” used in this release refer to Health Management Associates, Inc. or its affiliates.
Certain statements contained in this release, including, without limitation, statements containing the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “expects,” “optimistic,” and words of similar import, constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may include projections of revenues, income or loss, capital expenditures, capital structure, or other financial items, statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations, statements of future economic performance, statements of the assumptions underlying or relating to any of the foregoing statements, and other statements which are other than statements of historical fact.
Statements made throughout this release are based on current estimates of future events, and the Company has no obligation to update or correct these estimates. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially as a result of these various factors.
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CONTACT: John C. Merriwether, Vice President of Financial Relations ofHealth Management Associates, Inc., +1-239-598-3104
Web site: http://www.hma-corp.com/