Lake Mead Hospital owner posts higher profits

Friday, March 31, 2000 | 11:18 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Tenet Healthcare Corp., owner of Lake Mead Hospital in North Las Vegas, today said its fiscal third-quarter profit rose 23 percent as patient admissions increased and labor costs declined.

Profit from operations rose to $152 million or 48 cents per share in the quarter ended Feb. 29, up from $124 million or 40 cents in the year-ago quarter. Revenue rose slightly from $2.82 billion to $2.85 billion.

Tenet was predicted to earn 47 cents, the average estimate of analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial.

Tenet benefited from admissions increases of 3.6 percent at hospitals it owned more than a year and was able to reduce labor costs by using outside contractors for some work. That helped Tenet increase profit after struggling with funding cuts in Medicare, the federal insurance plan for the elderly.

"This was the best growth and margins for any quarter in four years," said Tenet Chairman and Chief Executive Jeffrey Barbakow.