Allscripts Slips To Q3 Loss On Lower Sales

(RTTNews) - Healthcare information services company Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (MDRX) reported Thursday a loss for the third quarter compared to a profit last year, despite a surge in bookings, reflecting a revenue drop and and lower income tax benefit. Stripping down charges, adjusted earnings per share and adjusted quarterly revenues also missed analysts' expectations.

"We accomplished several important objectives during the third quarter, including quarterly bookings growth of 46 percent over Q3 2012, as well as drove significant client renewals and agreement expansions. We are delivering on client commitments and have substantial work underway for MU2 and ICD-10 upgrades," President and CEO Paul Black said in a statement.

The Chicago, Illinois-based electronic health-records company reported a net loss of $48.9 million or $0.27 per share for the third quarter, compared to net income of $9.4 million or $0.05 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding one-time items, adjusted net income for the quarter was $9.1 million or $0.05 per share, compared to $39.4 million or $0.23 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.08 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenues for the quarter declined to $330.2 million from $360.7 million in the same quarter last year. Adjusted revenues decreased to $334.2 million from $361.0 million last year, and missed twenty-one Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $353.42 million.

Adjusted gross margin for the quarter was 44 percent, compared to 46 percent in the prior-year quarter. Adjusted operating margin was 5 percent, compared to 14 percent in the year-ago quarter.

Bookings for the quarter was $235.8 million, up 46 percent from $161.9 million in the prior-year quarter, with Allscripts cloud-based, EHR-agnostic solutions representing more than 25 percent of bookings and about 15 percent of total revenues.

The company noted that about 40 percent of third quarter bookings came from Population Health Management solutions demonstrating its clear industry leadership in the important, growing segment.

Contract backlog continues to grow and totaled a record $3.3 billion at the end of the third quarter.

Income tax benefit for the quarter was $2.3 million, compared to $19.8 million last year.

"Although our income statement continues to be negatively impacted by our shifting revenue model and significant investments, we remain focused on fundamental execution to ensure Allscripts success for the long term," Black added.

MDRX closed Thursday's regular trading session at $14.18, down $0.26 or 1.80% on a volume of 2.31 million shares. However, the stock gained $0.77 or 5.43% in after-hours trading.