Allscripts Healthcare Posts Q4 Loss - Update

(RTTNews) - Health care information technology company Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc., (MDRX), Thursday reported a loss for the fourth quarter, hurt largely by a charge related to Netsmart acquisition. Adjusted earnings for the quarter fell short of Wall Street by a penny, while revenues trumped expectations.

Allscripts reported a fourth-quarter loss of $7.4 million or $0.04 per share compared with a profit of $16.3 million or $0.09 per share last year.

Loss for the quarter includes a $10 million charge related to the acquisition of Netsmart in April 2016.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.14 per share, up from $0.13 per share a year ago. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.15 per share for the quarter.

Revenues for the quarter rose 23 percent to $425.4 million from $345.6 million in the prior year. Adjusted revenues totaled $429.4 million, up from $345.6 million in the prior year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $424.1 million for the quarter.

The Netsmart acquisition contributed $56 million in revenue for the fourth quarter.

Software delivery, support and maintenance revenue increased 23 percent, while client services revenue also gained 23 percent.

Gross margin for the quarter dropped to 43.8 percent from 44.5 percent last year, while operating expenses, consisting of selling, general and administrative and research and development expenses, increased 30 percent.

For the full year 2017, the company expects adjusted earnings growth of between 10 to 15 percent on revenues of $1.71 billion to $1.74 billion. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.65 per share on revenues of $1.72 billion.

MDRX closed Thursday's trading at $12.42, down $0.01 or 0.08%, on the Nasdaq.