ELMWOOD PARK, N.J., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Emdeon Corporation (Nasdaq: HLTH) today announced an increase in its financial guidance for the three months ending June 30, 2006.
"Based on stronger than anticipated results and trends at Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services, we are increasing guidance," said Kevin Cameron, Chief Executive Officer of Emdeon. "Following conclusion of the quarter, we will complete our normal closing process, which typically takes several weeks. We intend to announce our actual results for the June quarter on August 8, 2006. At that time, we expect to provide more detail on the June Quarter and to provide updated guidance for the remainder of the year."
Results for Three Months Ending June 30, 2006 Expected to Be Higher than Previously Issued Guidance
Emdeon is updating its financial guidance for the quarter ending June 30, 2006 as follows:
* Revenue of $351 million to $356 million, compared to prior guidance of
$345 million to $355 million.
* Earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash and other items ("Adjusted
EBITDA") of $0.21 to $0.23 per share, compared to prior guidance of
$0.19 to $0.20 per share.
* Net income of $0.07 to $0.09 per share, compared to prior guidance of
$0.06 to $0.07 per share.
The revised guidance does not reflect any expenses relating to the previously announced Department of Justice Investigation or the review of strategic alternatives for Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services.
Key factors considered in our updated financial guidance for the quarter ending June 30, 2006 are described below:
* Stronger than anticipated electronic transaction volume at Emdeon
Business Services due to new or enhanced channel partner relationships
and increased adoption of real-time transactions including eligibility
and ERA.
* Stronger than anticipated paper claim management software sales at
Emdeon Business Services.
* Stronger than anticipated patient billing and payment revenue at Emdeon
Business Services due to improved sales and larger than expected
implementations.
* Stronger than anticipated sales of revenue cycle management products at
Emdeon Business Services, particularly to the institutional/hospital
market.
* Stronger than anticipated gross margins at Emdeon Business Services
particularly with respect to electronic transactions services, paper
remittance and payment services, patient billing services and revenue
cycle management products.
* Stronger than anticipated gross margins on system sales at Emdeon
Practice Services.
* Greater than anticipated operating leverage at both Emdeon Business
Services and Emdeon Practice Services gained through execution of
process improvement initiatives.
* Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for Emdeon's WebMD Health subsidiary
(Nasdaq: WBMD) are anticipated to be at or slightly above the high end
of its previously issued financial guidance range.
Attached to this press release is a schedule that outlines Emdeon's financial guidance including a reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures used in this release.
Evaluation of Strategic Alternatives for Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services
Emdeon expects to conclude its previously announced evaluation of strategic alternatives for Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services in the second half of July.
ABOUT EMDEON
Emdeon (Nasdaq: HLTH) is a leading provider of business, technology and information solutions that transform both the financial and clinical aspects of healthcare delivery. At the core of Emdeon's vision is the commitment to connect providers, payers, employers, physicians and consumers in order to simplify business processes, to provide actionable knowledge at the right time and place and to improve healthcare quality.
Emdeon Business Services provides revenue cycle management and clinical communication solutions that enable payers, providers and patients to improve healthcare business processes. Emdeon Practice Services provides physician practice management and electronic health record software and services that increase practice efficiency and enhance patient care. WebMD (NASDAQ: WBMD) provides health information services for consumers, physicians, healthcare professionals, employers and health plans through its public and private online portals and health-focused publications. Porex is a developer, manufacturer and distributor of proprietary porous plastic products and components used in healthcare, industrial and consumer applications.
All statements contained in this press release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements, including those regarding: guidance on our future financial results and other projections or measures of our future performance; the amount and timing of the benefits expected from acquisitions or other transactions, from deployment of new or updated technologies, products, services or applications or from other potential sources of additional revenue; and explorations regarding possible transactions or other alternatives with respect to Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services. These statements speak only as of the date of this release and are based on our current plans and expectations, and they involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual future events or results to be different than those described in or implied by such forward- looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include those relating to: market acceptance of our products and services; our ability to develop and maintain relationships with healthcare industry participants, including healthcare payers and providers and vendors of services to those payers and providers; difficulties in integrating acquired businesses; changes in economic, political or regulatory conditions or other trends affecting the healthcare, Internet, information technology and plastics industries, including matters relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA); our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; and uncertainties regarding the outcome of the process of exploring alternatives with respect to Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services and its effects on those segments. Further information about these matters can be found in our Securities and Exchange Commission filings. We expressly disclaim any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
This press release includes both financial measures in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, as well as non-GAAP financial measures. The non-GAAP financial measures include: our company's earnings before interest, taxes, non-cash and other items (which we refer to as "Adjusted EBITDA"); and related per share amounts. We believe that those non-GAAP measures, and changes in those measures, are meaningful indicators of our company's performance and provide additional information that our management finds useful in evaluating such performance and in planning for future periods. Accordingly, we believe that such additional information may be useful to investors. The non-GAAP financial measures should be viewed as supplemental to, and not as an alternative for, the GAAP financial measures. The table attached to this press release include a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures.
WebMD(R), WebMD Health(R), Emdeon(TM), Emdeon Business Services(TM), Emdeon Practice Services(TM) and POREX(R) are trademarks of Emdeon Corporation or its subsidiaries.
-Schedules Follow-
Q2 2006 Updated Financial Guidance Summary
(in millions, except per share amounts)
Range
Revenue $351 $356
Adjusted EBITDA per diluted share $0.21 $0.23
Reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA per diluted
share to Net Income per diluted share:
Interest expense $0.00 $0.00
Depreciation and amortization 0.07 0.07
Non-cash stock-based compensation 0.04 0.04
Non-cash advertising 0.01 0.01
Income tax provision 0.02 0.02
Minority interest in WebMD Health Corp. 0.00 0.00
Net income per diluted share $0.07 $0.09
The above guidance excludes any expenses related to the previously
announced Department of Justice Investigation or the review of strategic
alternatives for Emdeon Business Services and Emdeon Practice Services.
SOURCE Emdeon Corporation