Athenahealth Shares Soar 14% As Q4 Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Shares of Athenahealth, Inc. (ATHN) soared 14 percent in extended trading on Thursday after the healthcare technology company reported results for the fourth quarter that topped analysts expectations. The company also reported a profit for the quarter that more that doubled from last year, reflecting improved margins and strong double-digit revenues growth.

The Watertown, Massachusetts-based provider of cloud-based business services for physician practices, reported net income of $13.15 million or $0.34 per share for the fourth quarter, higher than $5.94 million or $0.16 per share in the prior-year quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted income for the quarter was $22.06 million or $0.57 per share, compared to $10.79 million or $0.29 per share in the year-ago quarter.

On average, 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.45 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the quarter surged 48 percent to $171.58 million from $116.30 million in the same quarter last year, and topped nineteen Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $168.39 million by a whisker.

Excluding revenue from Epocrates-branded services of $18.9 million and other revenue consisting of third-party tenant revenue of $3.7 million, core athenahealth revenue grew 28 percent to $149.0 million from last year.

Athenahealth's adjusted operating margin expanded 300 basis points to 19.9 percent from last year, as adjusted gross margin improved 280 basis points to 66.2 percent from a year ago.

"The athenahealth team delivered another great year. We grew our physician network by 28%, achieved our 30% bookings growth goal for our core business and made significant investments in innovation to stay ahead of the ever-changing health care marketplace," CFO Tim Adams said in a statement.

For fiscal 2013, the company reported net income of $2.59 million or $0.07 per share, higher than $18.73 million or $0.50 per share in the prior year. Excluding items, adjusted income for the year was $44.32 million or $1.16 per share, compared to $37 13 million or $1.00 per share in the year ago.

Revenue for the full year surged 41 percent to $595.0 million from $422.27 million in the previous year. Core athenahealth revenues grew 26 percent to $532.9 million from last year. Analysts were looking for full-year 2013 earnings of $1.03 per share on revenues of $591.95 million.

Looking ahead to fiscal 2014, Athenahealth had in mid-December said it expects adjusted earnings in a range of $0.98 to 1.10 per share, on projected total revenues between $725 million and $755 million. Street is currently looking for full-year 2013 earnings of $1.04 per share on annual revenues of $743.60 million.

"Each day we are expanding our capabilities in the delivery of health care information technology services into our multi-billion dollar market opportunity. We are thrilled with the progress we have made in 2013 and are well-positioned to continue our success in 2014 and over the long-term," Adams added.

ATHN closed Thursday's regular trading session at $139.08, down $2.43 or 1.72% on a volume of 1.17 million shares. However, the stock soared $18.92 or 13.60% in after-hours trading.