(Reuters) -HCA Healthcare on Friday forecast 2025 profit above estimates on elevated demand for medical procedures and lower costs, as it recovers from the disruption caused by recent hurricanes.
In September, the hospital operator dealt with postponed procedures due to hurricanes Helene and Milton that hit some of its facilities in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.
During the fourth quarter, the company incurred additional expenses and lost about $200 million in revenue, which is at the lower end of its previous loss expectation.
However, HCA expects high demand for medical care in 2025 as elderly Medicare members catch up on non-urgent medical procedures.
An overall ageing U.S. population along with a shift to ambulatory care centers, which do not require patients to stay overnight, has also boosted demand, analysts said.
HCA saw a 3% increase in same-facility admissions, a metric which helps measure how each facility is performing, while same-facility emergency room visits increased 2.4%.
The hospital operator earned a profit of $5.63 per share for the quarter ended Dec.31, which includes a 60-cent unfavorable impact from the natural disasters.
Overall revenue of $18.29 billion, topped estimates of $18.23 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
HCA forecast 2025 profit to range from $24.05 per share to $25.85 per share, the mid point of which is above analysts’ average estimate of $24.51 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Sneha S K and Christy Santhosh; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
