The Ensign Group is “eager to continue to drive improvements in our existing portfolio and to take advantage of the acquisition opportunities that we see on the horizon,” the San Juan Capistrano, CA-based company’s CEO Barry Port told investors Friday on an earnings call.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, the company continued to build on momentum begun in the previous quarter, he said, adding that executives were “very humbled by what we were able to accomplish in 2023.”
Chad Keetch, Ensign’s chief investment officer and executive vice president, noted in a press release issued in conjunction with the call that the company is making progress with its newly acquired operations.
“As we expected, we continued to add to our growing portfolio and are very excited about the three new operations and one real estate asset we added during the quarter and since, bringing the number of operations acquired since 2022 to 54,” Keetch said.
The recent acquisitions:
- Providence Place, a 45-bed skilled nursing facility in Kansas City, KS;
- Hearthstone Health and Rehabilitation, a 125-bed SNF in Sparks, NV;
- TriState Health and Rehabilitation Center, a 116-bed SNF in Harrogate, TN; and
- Champions Healthcare at Willowbrook, a healthcare campus consisting of a 98-bed SNF and a 144-bed assisted living community in Houston.
Based on a fourth quarter deemed successful, the company issued 2024 earnings guidance of $5.29 to $5.47 per diluted share and annual revenue guidance of $4.13 billion to $4.17 billion. In the third quarter, Ensign had increased its annual 2023 earnings guidance to between $4.73 to $4.79 per diluted share, up from $4.70 to $4.78 per diluted share.
“The midpoint of this 2024 earnings guidance represents an increase of 13% over our 2023 results and is 30% higher than our 2022 results,” Port said. “When we consider the current health of our organization, combined with our culture and proven local leadership strategy, we are well-positioned to have another outstanding year in 2024.”
President and Chief Operations Officer Spencer Burton said that the company had fourth-quarter success that was the result of continued improvements in occupancy and staffing, “combined with hundreds of small but meaningful innovations by facility leaders and clusters.”
Consolidated generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, revenues and adjusted revenues were both $3.73 billion, representing an increase of 23%, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President Suzanne Snapper said. GAAP diluted earnings per share was $3.65, and gap net income was $209.4 million.
The company saw adjusted net income of $273.5 million for 2023 and $73.7 million for the fourth quarter, representing an increase of 16.0% and 17.5% over 2022 and the third quarter of 2023, respectively.
For additional coverage of the earnings call, see McKnight’s Long-Term Care News.
