Universal Health Services ( NYSE: UHS ) shares are down 7% in after-hours trading despite beating on the top and bottom lines for Q2 2022 as COVID-19 headwinds are expected to continue impacting the hospital operator.
The company experienced a decline in Q2 COVID acute care patients that was not offset by an increase in non-COVID patients. This led to "significant shortfalls in revenues and earnings as compared to our original forecasts the quarter."
While this helped Universal ( UHS ) with the staffing shortages and somewhat mitigated the higher pay costs for workers, recovery from labor pressures have been slower than expected.
The company noted that due to future uncertainty over COVID as as ongoing pressures on staffing and wages, "we are not able to fully quantify the impact that these factors will have on our future financial results."
In late June, Universal Health ( UHS ) cut its 2022 guidance .
In the acute care unit, net revenue per adjusted patient day was the same compared to Q2 2021.
In behavioral health care services, net revenue per adjusted admission increased by 2.6% and net revenue per adjusted patient day increased by 1.8% compared to the prior-year period.
Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating views Universal Health ( UHS ) as a hold with strong grades for growth and profitability .
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Universal Health down 7% despite Q2 beat as COVID impact will remain for rest of year