Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems completed its 30-hospital divestiture plan Nov. 1. Now, the company expects to sell another group of its hospitals with combined revenue of $2 billion, Chairman and CEO Wayne Smith said during a third quarter earnings call.
To improve its finances and reduce its heavy debt load, CHS put a turnaround plan into place last year. As part of the initiative, the company announced in early 2017 that it intended to sell off 30 hospitals. In August, CHS extended its divestiture plan. The company said it would sell a group of hospitals with combined revenue of $1.5 billion in addition to the 30 hospitals already announced.
With the sales last week of Highlands Regional Medical Center in Sebring, Fla., and Merit Health Northwest Mississippi in Clarksdale, Mr. Smith said the 30 hospital divestitures are complete, and the company is once again expanding its divestiture plan.
"We are now pursuing sale transaction of hospitals accounting for at least $2 billion of net revenue, which has increased from $1.5 billion last quarter," Mr. Smith said.
Mr. Smith said the company has signed several letters of intent for the hospitals in the next group of divestitures, accounting for more than $1.2 billion in net revenue.
"Our goal is to emerge from this process with a sustainable group of hospitals that are positioned for long-term success and growth," he said.
With the help of proceeds from the hospital sales, CHS brought down its long-term debt load to $13.9 billion in the third quarter of this year, from $14.8 billion in the same period of 2016.
The company ended the most recent quarter with a net loss of $110 million on revenues of $3.67 billion. That's compared to the third quarter of 2016, when the company posted a net loss of $79 million on revenues of $4.38 billion.
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