Integrated Health Services Inc. of Owings Mills yesterday reported record earnings for the last quarter of 1994 and for the year, bolstering confidence in the company a week after a negative published report hurt its stock.
Earnings for the fourth quarter were $12.2 million, or 59 cents a share, up from $3.1 million, or 20 cents a share, for the same period the previous year. Revenue totaled $235.4 million, a 163 percent increase.
Earnings for the year were $30.9 million, or $1.73 a share, up from $15.5 million, or $1.18 a share, in 1993. The year-end results included extraordinary charges of $4.27 million last year and $2.28 million in 1993.
Revenue was $683.6 million last year, up 142 percent.
The stock closed at $36.625, unchanged from Monday.
Integrated bills itself as a cheaper alternative to hospital care, providing an array of services to patients, usually in specially outfitted nursing homes. The company expanded enormously in 1994, increasing the number of facilities it runs in 30 states from 115 to 192 and the number of beds from 15,000 to 25,000.
The company was jolted last week by a report in the Wall Street Journal that described a lawsuit against Integrated by a former executive and a possible change in government reimbursement rules for health facilities. With a cloud over the company, Ferris, Baker Watts Inc. rated Integrated a "hold."
"We are upgrading them now to a buy," Ferris analyst Kurt Funderburg said yesterday.
"I was generally very pleased with the numbers," he said, noting that fourth-quarter earnings were a penny above analysts' expectations. "It appears they're right on schedule with the expansion of their specialty medical unit beds, which I think is key to their moving forward. . . . Their cash flow was fairly strong for the year and for the quarter, which is a big positive for the company."
He said Robert N. Elkins, chairman and chief executive of Integrated, dealt effectively with last week's news, telling analysts the company is prepared to deal with a possible change in reimbursement rules.