Despite headwinds facing its hospice division, Baton Rouge, LA-based Amedisys earned $1.50 a diluted share on revenues of $537.1 million in the first quarter of 2021. The company beat Wall Street earning-per-share estimate of $1.43 but fell $6.5 million short on revenue estimates. The first quarter performance was still well ahead of the $0.96 a share the company earned during the same period a year ago.
Amedisys Chairman and CEO Paul Kusserow said the company’s home healthcare division had strong momentum heading into the year, but “hospice continues to see the impact of COVID-19 on average daily consensus.” Kusserow said all divisions are performing ahead of projections and making good progress as Amedisys heads into the second quarter.
“We are also innovating close-to-the-core, growing inorganically, generating a prodigious amount of cash flow and remain in a position of very low leverage,” Kusserow said in a news release.
On Tuesday, the day before it released its first-quarter earnings, Amedisys announced a partnership with physician practice Sound Physicians to launch the Home Health Advanced Pilot Program in the Southeastern U.S. The program will support home-based care for Medicare fee-for-service patients who meet certain diagnosis and acuity levels.
“The combination of the highest-quality home healthcare in the industry and coordinated personal care support to help patients and caregivers with activities of daily living is the key to future innovations like these and has enormous implications for the future of healthcare,” Kusserow said.
Amedisys is one of the nation’s largest home care companies, offering home healthcare, hospice and personal care. The company operates in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
