Premier (NASDAQ: PINC) reported Q4 EPS of $0.70, $0.04 better than the analyst estimate of $0.66. Revenue for the quarter came in at $434 million versus the consensus estimate of $411.89 million.

Q4 2018 Highlights:

• Net revenue increased 8% to $434.0 million from the same period last year; Supply Chain Services segment revenue rose 10% to $339.2 million and Performance Services segment revenue increased 2% to $94.8 million.
• Net income rose 36% to $100.6 million from the same period a year ago. After non-cash adjustments to reflect the change in the redemption value of limited partners’ Class B common unit ownership at the end of each period, diluted earnings per share reflected a loss of $6.17 compared with a loss of $6.10 for the same period last year.
• Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA* of $148.1 million increased 12% from the same period last year.
• Non-GAAP adjusted fully distributed net income* increased 35% to $94.8 million, representing $0.70 per diluted share, an increase of 41% over $0.50 per diluted share from a year ago.

Premier’s fourth quarter delivered a very successful finish to fiscal 2018, as stronger-than-anticipated revenue performance across our Supply Chain and Performance Services businesses produced earnings results that exceeded our expectations,” said Susan DeVore, president and chief executive officer. “These results capped a solid fiscal 2018 performance, once again demonstrating Premier’s consistent financial strength and operational excellence, which we believe solidify our continued leadership as we work with our nation’s health systems and other providers to transform healthcare delivery in America.

“Operationally, we finished the year with a 98% retention rate in our group purchasing (GPO) business, which generated approximately $60 billion in contract volume,” DeVore said. “We also achieved a 97% SaaS institutional renewal rate within our Performance Services segment, and our consulting services business delivered year-over-year growth for both the quarter and year. We continue to grow and expand our relationships and further refine our supply chain and performance services offerings. We finished fiscal 2018 with more than 4,000 member hospitals and health systems and approximately 165,000 other providers and organizations.

“Looking forward, we remain confident that Premier is uniquely well positioned to succeed in this dynamically evolving marketplace,” DeVore said. “Our comprehensive, data-driven analytics and consulting services provide health systems with a total value proposition aimed at comprehensively reducing costs, improving quality and safety, and moving our industry towards value-based care. In partnership with our members, we are constantly striving to expand and evolve our offerings to leverage new technologies and capitalize on new opportunities emerging in the marketplace. We believe Premier will continue to deliver meaningful value for our members, meaningful growth for our company, and long-term return and value for our stockholders.”

GUIDANCE:

Premier sees FY2019 EPS of $2.60-$2.72, versus the consensus of $2.66. Premier sees FY2019 revenue of $1.721-1.787 billion, versus the consensus of $1.75 billion.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Premier (PINC) click here.