Greensboro, N.C.-based Cone Health revealed it is inching back into positive operating income territory in a May 19 filing.
The five-hospital system reported $1.5 million in operating income for the six months ending March 31 on revenue of $1.33 billion compared with an operating loss of $17.3 million on revenue of $1.27 billion in the same period ending March 31, 2022.
This was even as overall expenses rose 3.4 percent, with total labor expense up $4 million. Contract labor expenses totaled $35.7 million, $30.8 million less than the previous year.
Overall income, boosted by improved investment returns, totaled $72.2 million, up from $6.2 million in 2022.
Cone Health maintains a "dominant market presence" in its main service areas, the system said.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Atrium Health, through Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, has proposed a new hospital in Greensboro, a move Cone Health said would duplicate services and lead to higher pricing overall.