(Reuters) — HCA Holdings Inc., the largest U.S. hospital operator, on Tuesday announced a deal to acquire a Dallas-based provider of urgent-care services and said its board authorized the repurchase of up to $1 billion of its outstanding shares.
HCA, which previewed its third-quarter results earlier this month, also said its quarterly profit rose from a year ago as it admitted more patients to its hospitals.
The Nashville-based company said it was acquiring CareNow, a privately held operator of 24 urgent-care centers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
HCA said its third-quarter net income rose to $518 million, or $1.16 a share, compared with $365 million, or 79 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue increased 9% to $9.22 billion.
Admissions increased 2.8% in the quarter compared to the prior-year period at facilities open at least one year.
HCA reiterated the higher 2014 outlook it gave two weeks ago for earnings excluding special items in a range of $4.40 to $4.60 a share on revenue of $36.5 billion to $37 billion.
The company said it expects to complete the CareNow acquisition in the fourth quarter.
(Reuters) — HCA Holdings Inc. on Tuesday reported quarterly earnings just shy of analysts' expectations, and its top executive said the U.S. hospital chain had not yet benefited from President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law.