King of Prussia-based Universal Health Services is responding to declining hospital admissions during the coronavirus pandemic by suspending its quarterly dividend payments and its $2.7 billion stock repurchase program, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The hospital management company has also implemented cost reduction measures across all of its expanse categories, including scaling back on a number of its planned capital projects.
The company said that the pandemic has had a “material unfavorable effect on our operations and financial results” during the first quarter.
According to UHS Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Steve G. Filton, over the second half of March, patient volumes at the company’s acute care hospitals and behavioral health care facilities fell by 29 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
As a result, UHS has posted a net income of $142 million for the quarter, compared to the $234.2 million posted over the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, the company has posted revenues over the same period of $2.8 billion, which is almost the same as for the first quarter of last year.
Read more about Universal Health Services at the Philadelphia Business Journal by clicking here.
