FRANKLIN, Tenn., Aug. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Spheris, a leading global provider of clinical documentation technology and services, today announced results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2008.
Financial Highlights--Second Quarter of 2008
Net revenues for the second quarter of 2008 were $47.1 million compared with $50.5 million in the second quarter of 2007. The decrease in net revenues was due primarily to the impact of net lost business and revenue price variance.
Operating income for the second quarter of 2008 was $0.5 million, or 1.1% of net revenues, compared with operating income of $2.5 million, or 4.9% of net revenues, in the second quarter of 2007. The decrease in operating income was due to lower net revenues, as described above, costs associated with the expansion of our global capacity, accelerated technology investments to further develop and enhance our product and service offerings and other service level investments. These variances were partially off-set by operational efficiencies gained through increased utilization of our global production workforce and speech recognition technologies, as well as the realization of certain overhead costs savings.
The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and other expense or income. Adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of 2008 was $6.5 million, or 13.7% of net revenues, compared with $8.5 million, or 16.8% of net revenues, in the second quarter of 2007. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to the impacts of lower net revenues, as well as technology and service investments as described above.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure. Please refer to the “Supplemental Financial Information” and related note contained in this press release for further discussion and reconciliation of GAAP financial measures to Adjusted EBITDA.
Financial Highlights--First Six Months of 2008
Net revenues for the six month period ended June 30, 2008 were $96.3 million compared with $102.9 million in the prior year period. The decrease in net revenues was due primarily to the impact of net lost business and revenue price variance.
Operating loss for the six month period ended June 30, 2008 was $0.2 million, or (0.2)% of net revenues, compared with operating income of $4.6 million, or 4.5% of net revenues, in the prior-year period. During the first quarter of 2008, the Company recorded $1.3 million of transaction related expenses relating to a transaction that was not consummated. Excluding these transaction costs, operating income would have been $1.1 million for the six month period ended June 30, 2008. The decrease in operating income was due to lower net revenues as described above, the impact of certain costs associated with training and transitioning our workforce to speech recognition technologies, costs associated with the expansion of our global capacity, accelerated technology investments to further develop and enhance our product and service offerings and other service level investments, as well as the unfavorable impact of foreign currency exchange rates on production costs of our Indian operations during the first quarter of 2008. These variances were partially off-set by operational efficiencies gained through increased utilization of our global production workforce and speech recognition technologies as well as the realization of certain overhead costs savings.
Adjusted EBITDA for the six month period ended June 30, 2008, excluding the $1.3 million of transaction related expenses noted above, was $13.0 million, or 13.5% of net revenues, compared with $16.7 million, or 16.3% of net revenues, in the prior-year period. The decrease in Adjusted EBITDA was primarily due to the impacts of lower net revenues, as well as technology and service investments as described above.
Commenting on the second quarter 2008 results, Steven E. Simpson, president and chief executive officer of Spheris, stated, “While we are pleased with the progress of our ongoing technology development, we are disappointed with our revenue performance for the first half of the year. The lower than expected net revenues further emphasize the importance of our accelerated technology investments to execute on our strategy to be the first to market with a fully-integrated, end-to-end solution for clinical documentation, coupled with superior services. To that end, we will continue to focus our attention on our technology development to drive internal efficiencies throughout our operations and grow the top line.”
Balance Sheet Highlights
As of June 30, 2008, the outstanding indebtedness under the Company’s senior secured credit facility was $75 million and the outstanding indebtedness under the Company’s senior subordinated notes was $125 million.
Liquidity Highlights
As of June 30, 2008, Spheris held $7.1 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents. During the first six months of 2008, the Company used $1.4 million of cash in operating activities compared with cash generated by operating activities of $8.6 million during the same period in 2007. The decrease in cash from operating activities was attributable to the year over year change in operating performance, timing of wages and benefit payments, and timing of interest payments on our senior secured credit facility.
Investor Conference Call and Webcast
Spheris will host a conference call on August 13, 2008, at 8 a.m. CT. The number to call for this interactive teleconference is (303) 262-2130. Following the conference call, the audio replay will be available for one week by dialing (303) 590-3000 and entering the confirmation number, 11111010#. The live broadcast of Spheris’ quarterly conference call will be available online at www.spheris.com and http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=49816 on August 13, 2008, at 8 a.m. CT. The online replay will be available shortly after the call and will continue for 30 days.
About Spheris
Spheris is a leading global provider of clinical documentation technology and services to more than 500 health systems, hospitals and group practices throughout the U.S. Spheris offers a highly advanced, Web-based technology platform, available as an independent solution to support in-house departments or blended with Spheris’ outsource services. Spheris employs approximately 5,500 skilled medical language specialists supporting the Company’s clients through a secure network. Using a Follow the Sun(SM) service strategy, customer support is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with an emphasis on verifiable quality, turnaround time and pricing. Spheris’ world-wide corporate headquarters are located in Franklin, Tenn. For more information, please visit www.spheris.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements as to the Company’s beliefs and expectations of the outcome of future events that are forward-looking statements as defined within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties as described in the filings made from time to time by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the following: (i) the effect our substantial indebtedness has on our ability to raise additional capital to fund our business, to react to changes in the economy or our business and to fulfill our obligations under our indebtedness, including our ability to meet financial covenants and other conditions of our senior secured credit facility and indenture governing our senior subordinated notes; (ii) our history of losses and accumulated deficit; (iii) our ability to effectively manage our global production capacity, including our ability to recruit, train and retain qualified medical language specialists and maintain high standards of quality service in our operations; (iv) our ability to adapt and integrate new technology into our clinical documentation platforms to improve our production capabilities and expand the breadth of our technology and service offerings; (v) our ability to maintain our competitive position against current and future competitors, including our ability to gain new business with acceptable operating margins and ongoing price pressures related to our technology and services and the healthcare markets in general; (vi) the reluctance of potential customers to outsource or change providers of their clinical documentation technology and services and its impact on our ability to attract new customers and increase revenues; (vii) financial and operational risks inherent in our global operations, including foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and transfer pricing laws between the United States and India; (viii) our ability to attract, hire or retain technical and managerial personnel necessary to develop and implement technology and services to our customers; (ix) the effect on our business if we incur additional debt and assume contingent liabilities and expenses in connection with future acquisitions or if we cannot effectively integrate newly acquired operations; and (x) our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property rights, including our proprietary technology and the intellectual property we license from third parties.
Note to Supplemental Financial Information
The Company defines Adjusted EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and other expense or income (including mark-to-market adjustments related to the Company’s derivative financial instruments). Adjusted EBITDA is a financial measure not computed in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. The Company believes that this non-GAAP measure, when presented in conjunction with the comparable GAAP measure, is useful to both management and investors in analyzing the Company’s ongoing business and operating performance. The Company believes that providing the non-GAAP information to investors, in addition to the GAAP presentation, allows investors to view the Company’s financial results in the way management and the Company’s senior lenders view the Company’s operating results. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful as a supplemental measure of the performance of the Company’s operations because it isolates the Company’s operating performance from the accounting impact of the Company’s financing strategies, tax provisions, and depreciation and amortization. Additionally, since Adjusted EBITDA is a significant component of certain financial covenants under the Company’s senior secured credit facility agreement, management believes Adjusted EBITDA is useful for investors to better assess the Company’s compliance with these financial covenants. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, items prepared in accordance with GAAP that are presented in this press release, as the items excluded in the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA are significant components in understanding and assessing financial performance. A reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to the nearest comparable GAAP financial measure is provided above. Adjusted EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
CONTACT: Investor Relations: Brian P. Callahan, Chief Financial Officer,
+1-615-261-1500, bcallahan@spheris.com, or Michele Peden, Director of
Communications, +1-615-261-1580, mpeden@spheris.com, both of Spheris
Web site: http://www.spheris.com/
