Athenahealth Q3 profit jumps 65%, reaffirms 2018 forecast

The healthcare software company Athenahealth Inc. (ATHN) reported a 65% jump in earnings for the third quarter helped by higher revenue and lower operating expenses. Total revenues increased 9% to $331.4 million driven by higher network growth in ambulatory and in hospital. In addition, the company reaffirmed its full-year guidance.

Ahead of the impact of the new revenue recognition standard, net income climbed 65% to $21.5 million and earnings jumped 62.5% to $0.52 per share. Non-GAAP earnings soared 71% to $0.96 per share.

Total bookings for the quarter decreased to $46.6 million from $65.7 million in the previous year quarter. The latest quarter bookings included a large enterprise client chargeback originally signed in 2016. Excluding this chargeback, the decline in bookings year-over-year was consistent with the prior quarter.

Looking ahead into the full year 2018, the company reaffirmed its total revenue outlook in the range of $1.33 billion to $1.36 billion and operating income estimate in the range of $128 million to $155 million. Operating margin is still predicted to be 9.6% to 11.4%.

The forecast is prior to the impact of the new revenue recognition standard to allow for comparability against historical results. The company reaffirmed its full-year financial guidance to reflect its year-to-date performance and expectations for the fourth quarter.

For the third quarter, network growth metrics for ambulatory (athenaOne) increased 13% for collector providers, 17% for clinical providers and 16% for communicator providers. The metrics for the hospital (athenaOne for Hospitals & Health Systems) soared 101% for discharge bed days. However, population health (athenahealth Population Health) services experienced a 5% drop in network metrics for covered lives.

Shares of Athenahealth ended Friday’s regular session down 3.63% at $120.35 on the Nasdaq. The stock has fallen over 6% in the year so far, while it has risen 0.42% in the past year.

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