Margins slightly higher for multistate CCRC operators

For continuing care retirement communities seeking larger margins, expanding into additional states might be a good strategy.

Ziegler’s 2017 edition of the CARF Financial Ratios & Trend Analysis shows that multi-state operators realized net operating margins of 6.3%. For single-site providers, the number was 5.5%.

The report also found that for both groups, the days cash on hand median has remained in the roughly 300-day range for the past decade.

The report noted that the debt service coverage ratio — which reflects the ability to fund debt service with cash flow — declined slightly for both single-site and multi-site providers, but remains strong.

Most CCRCs (also now known as life plan communities) are between 12 and 13 years old, on average, according to the annual report.