News in brief - Aug. 6, 2001

Health Care Service Corp. finalizes New Mexico Blues deal - HCA records $263 million second-quarter profit

Health Care Service Corp. finalizes New Mexico Blues deal

Health Care Service Corp. has completed its $55 million acquisition of Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico. The deal was closed at the end of June, said a spokesman for the company. Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp. is the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas.

HCA records $263 million second-quarter profit

A year after a $498 million charge to help settle federal fraud allegations, Nashville-based HCA Inc.'s turnaround continued as the nation's largest for-profit hospital chain posted second-quarter net income of $263 million, beating Wall Street's expectations.

HCA earned 48 cents per share for the second quarter of 2001, compared with a net loss of $272 million, or 49 cents per share, for the same quarter in 2000. That loss included the $498 million after-tax charge.

Excluding investigation- and settlement-related costs and gains on the sale of HCA properties as the company restructured, HCA earned $271 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $223 million, or 40 cents per share, a year ago. Analysts had predicted earnings of 46 cents per share for the quarter that ended June 30.

Second-quarter revenues rose 8% to $4.48 billion, compared with $4.13 billion for the same period last year. Same-facility revenues for hospitals owned at least a year increased nearly 11% compared with the second quarter of 2000.