Hurricanes cost HCA $140M in Q3

The impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma on hospitals owned by Nashville, Tennessee-based HCA Healthcare was spelled out in a preview of its third quarter earnings report, with the company saying it lost $140 million thanks to additional expenses and lost revenue at its facilities in Texas, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina.

The storms forced some patients to be evacuated from several HCA facilities, including Mercy Hospital Miami. In all, the hurricanes cut 30 basis points from HCA’s same-facility admissions growth, 80 basis points on same facility equivalent admissions growth and 30 basis points on same facility emergency visits growth during the third quarter.

The company’s net income is expected to be $426 million—$1.15 per diluted share—for the quarter, compared to $618 million in the same quarter in 2016. Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the quarter for the third quarter of 2017 is expected to be $1.776 billion compared to $1.957 billion in the previous year’s third quarter.

Based off these results, HCA cut its 2017 earnings forecast. Revenues will remain in the same range of between $43 billion and $44 billion, but adjusted EBITDA has been downgraded to $8-$8.15 billion and earnings per share are now forecast at between $6.45-$6.70.