Select Medical Holdings Corp (SEM) 2024 Q3 法說會逐字稿

Good morning, and thank you for joining us today for the Select Medical Holdings Corporation's earnings conference call to discuss the third-quarter 2024 results and the company's business outlook.

早安，感謝您今天參加 Select Medical Holdings Corporation 的收益電話會議，討論 2024 年第三季業績和公司業務前景。

Speaking today are the company's Executive Chairman and Co-Founder, Robert Ortenzio; and the company's Senior Executive Vice President of Strategic Finance and Operations, Martin Jackson. Management will give you an overview of the quarter and then open the call up for questions.

今天發言的是該公司的執行主席兼聯合創始人 Robert Ortenzio；以及公司策略財務和營運高級執行副總裁馬丁傑克遜 (Martin Jackson)。管理層將為您提供本季度的概述，然後開始提問。

Before we get started, we would like to remind you that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company, including, without limitation, statements regarding operating results, growth opportunities and the other statements that refer to the Select Medical's plans, expectations, strategies, intentions and beliefs. These forward-looking statements are based on the information available to the management of Select Medical today, and the company assumes no obligation to update these statements as circumstances change.

在開始之前，我們想提醒您，本次電話會議可能包含有關公司未來事件或未來財務業績的前瞻性陳述，包括但不限於有關經營業績、成長機會的陳述以及其他有關未來事件的陳述。 Select Medical 的計劃、期望、策略、意圖和信念。這些前瞻性陳述是基於 Select Medical 管理層目前掌握的信息，公司不承擔隨著情況變化而更新這些陳述的義務。

At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Mr. Robert Ortenzio. Please go ahead.

此時，我想將電話轉接給羅伯特·奧坦齊奧先生。請繼續。

Thank you, operator. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to Select Medical's earnings call for the third quarter 2024.

謝謝你，接線生。大家早安。歡迎參加 Select Medical 2024 年第三季的財報電話會議。

As most of you are aware, this quarter, we successfully completed Concentra's initial public offering. Concentra issued 23,250,000 shares and now trades under the symbol CON on the New York Stock Exchange. Select Medical now owns 81.74% of Concentra stock. We expect to distribute its remaining interest in Concentra to our shareholders by the end of the year, contingent upon receiving the waiver of the IPO lockup, which is based on market conditions.

正如你們大多數人所知，本季我們成功完成了 Concentra 的首次公開募股。Concentra 發行了 23,250,000 股股票，目前在紐約證券交易所交易，代號為 CON。Select Medical 現在擁有 Concentra 81.74% 的股票。我們預計在年底前將其在 Concentra 的剩餘權益分配給我們的股東，具體取決於根據市場情況獲得 IPO 禁售豁免。

As noted on last quarter's earnings call, Concentra entered into financing arrangements, which included a new senior credit facility consisting of an $850 million seven-year term loan, a $400 million five-year revolving facility, which was undrawn at closing, and $650 million of 6.875% senior notes due 2032. The majority of the net proceeds of Concentra's IPO and related debt transactions were used by Select to pay down debt. Concentra will be holding their Q3 conference call later this morning at 10:30 Eastern Time, where they will provide more detailed information regarding their performance for the third quarter.

正如上一季的財報電話會議所指出的，Concentra 達成了融資安排，其中包括一項新的高級信貸安排，其中包括8.5 億美元的七年期定期貸款、4 億美元的五年期循環貸款（在交易結束時尚未提取）以及6.5 億美元2032 年到期的 6.875% 優先票據。Select 使用 Concentra IPO 和相關債務交易的大部分淨收益來償還債務。Concentra 將於東部時間今天上午 10:30 召開第三季電話會議，屆時他們將提供有關第三季業績的更多詳細資訊。

On the development front, in September, Select Medical opened a 48-bed inpatient rehab hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, with our partner, UF Health. The joint venture hospital is branded UF Health Rehabilitation Hospital North and resides in the new tower of UF Health North.

在發展方面，9 月，Select Medical 與我們的合作夥伴 UF Health 在佛羅裡達州傑克遜維爾開設了一家擁有 48 個床位的住院復健醫院。該合資醫院名為 UF Health Rehabilitation Hospital North，位於 UF Health North 的新塔樓內。

We're also pleased to announce a few new inpatient rehab projects including an acquisition of a 50-bed hospital in Oklahoma City that is scheduled to close in December. The hospital will be a joint venture with our current partner, SSM. Early next year, we also plan on opening a 54-bed rehab hospital in Temple, Texas. Contingent upon regulatory approval, we plan on opening a new 68-bed facility in Jersey City, which is Hudson County, New Jersey, branded as Kessler in late 2026.

我們也很高興地宣布一些新的住院復健項目，包括收購俄克拉荷馬城一家擁有 50 個床位的醫院，該醫院計劃於 12 月關閉。該醫院將是我們與現任合作夥伴 SSM 的合資企業。明年初，我們還計劃在德州坦普爾開設一家擁有 54 個床位的復健醫院。根據監管部門的批准，我們計劃於 2026 年底在新澤西州哈德遜縣澤西市開設一家擁有 68 個床位的新設施，品牌為 Kessler。

We have a number of development projects in line for 2025 and 2026 in the inpatient rehab division. We're on track to open our second hospital with UPMC in Central Pennsylvania, in Q2 of 2025 and our fourth inpatient rehab with Cleveland Clinic in Fairhill, Ohio, in Q3 of 2025. In Q1 of 2026, we are slated to open our fourth rehabilitation hospital as part of our joint venture with Banner in Tucson, Arizona, and a new freestanding 63-bed rehab hospital in Ozark, Missouri, with Cox Health Systems. In Q4 2026, our new 60-bed rehab hospital in Southern New Jersey, Bacharach Institute for Rehab in partnership with AtlantiCare is scheduled to open.

我們的住院復健部門計劃於 2025 年和 2026 年進行許多開發案。我們預計在 2025 年第二季在賓州中部與 UPMC 合作開設第二家醫院，並於 2025 年第三季在俄亥俄州費爾希爾與克利夫蘭診所合作開設第四家住院復健醫院。作為我們與Banner 在亞利桑那州圖森合資企業的一部分，我們計劃於2026 年第一季開設第四家康復醫院，並與Cox Health Systems 在密蘇裡州奧扎克開設一家擁有63 個床位的獨立康復醫院。我們與 AtlantiCare 合作在新澤西州南部新建的擁有 60 個床位的復健醫院 Bacharach Institute for Rehab 計劃於 2026 年第四季開業。

Between the specific projects I just mentioned as well as some other smaller expansions and new distinct part rehab units and existing hospitals, we plan to add 569 additional beds through our operations for the remainder of 2024 through 2026. The additional beds will consist of 543 inpatient rehab beds, which include 112 non-consolidating beds and 26 long-term acute care hospital beds. There are also a number of other opportunities under consideration, which would further increase our Select Specialty Hospital footprint.

在我剛才提到的具體項目以及其他一些較小的擴建和新的不同部分康復單位和現有醫院之間，我們計劃在 2024 年剩餘時間到 2026 年期間通過我們的運營增加 569 張床位。新增病床將包括543張住院復健床位，其中包括112張非合併病床和26張長期急診醫院病床。還有許多其他機會正在考慮中，這將進一步擴大我們的精選專科醫院的足跡。

This quarter, our outpatient rehab division added nine clinics via eight de novos and One Clinic acquisition. This offset the closure of four terminated management agreements, three underperforming clinics and the forwarding of two clinics into existing operations upon lease expiration. The pipeline for future growth includes six executed leases for de novo clinics scheduled to open later this year as well as 12 for 2025. We also plan to acquire two clinics later this year.

本季度，我們的門診復健部門透過 8 個從頭收購和 1 個診所收購增加了 9 個診所。這抵消了四家已終止管理協議的關閉、三家表現不佳的診所以及租賃到期後將兩家診所轉入現有業務的影響。未來成長的管道包括計劃於今年稍後開業的 6 個已執行的 de novo 診所租約以及 2025 年開業的 12 個。我們還計劃在今年稍後收購兩家診所。

Overall, we had a strong third quarter of 2024 with all four divisions exceeding prior year Q3 results in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA. The hospital divisions continued to exceed expectations with the inpatient rehab division returning double-digit growth in both revenue and adjusted EBITDA for the third consecutive quarter this year. Overall, our consolidated adjusted EBITDA grew 6% from $193.8 million to $205.5 million with an adjusted EBITDA margin of 11.7% compared to 11.6% in prior year Q3. Revenue grew by 6% compared to Q3 of the prior year.

總體而言，我們在 2024 年第三季表現強勁，所有四個部門的營收和調整後 EBITDA 均超過去年第三季的業績。醫院部門持續超越預期，住院復健部門今年連續第三個季度收入和調整後 EBITDA 實現兩位數成長。總體而言，我們的綜合調整後 EBITDA 成長了 6%，從 1.938 億美元增至 2.055 億美元，調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 11.7%，而去年第三季為 11.6%。營收較去年第三季成長 6%。

Our critical illness recovery hospital division continues to perform well with a 3% increase in revenue and a 9% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared to the same quarter prior year. Critical illness incurred $2.5 million in start-up losses related to new hospitals this quarter compared to $5 million in the same quarter prior year. Current quarter start-up losses primarily relate to the opening of Rush Specialty Hospital in Chicago in April. Our occupancy and average daily census both increased by 1% from same quarter last year, occupancy from 65%, up from 64%. Our rate per patient day increased 2%.

我們的重症復健醫院部門持續表現良好，與去年同期相比，收入成長了 3%，調整後 EBITDA 成長了 9%。本季與新醫院相關的重大疾病損失為 250 萬美元，而去年同期為 500 萬美元。本季的啟動虧損主要與四月芝加哥拉什專科醫院的開幕有關。我們的入住率和平均每日人口普查均較去年同期成長了 1%，入住率從 65% 上升至 64%。我們每位患者每天的發生率增加了 2%。

Our adjusted EBITDA margin was 8.7% for the quarter compared to 8.2% in the prior year Q3. Critical illness experienced a slight reduction, 0.3% in their salary ranges and benefit to revenue ratio compared to prior Q3 with a 58% margin. We have seen nursing agency rates stabilize while utilization continues to decrease from prior year. We also continue to see decreases in nursing orientation hours, 13% reduction from prior year Q3 and sign on and incentive bonus dollars, an 18% reduction from prior year Q3.

本季調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率為 8.7%，而去年第三季為 8.2%。與上一季相比，重大疾病的薪資範圍和福利收入比略有下降 0.3%，利潤率為 58%。我們看到護理機構的比率穩定，而利用率較前一年持續下降。我們也繼續看到護理培訓時間減少，比去年第三季減少 13%，簽約和激勵獎金金額比去年第三季減少 18%。

Our inpatient rehab hospital division had a very strong quarter with a 14% increase in revenue and a 12% increase in adjusted EBITDA compared to Q3 prior year. Inpatient rehab incurred $3.7 million of start-up losses this quarter, primarily related to the opening of the UF Health Jacksonville in late September and our Rush Specialty hospital rehab unit in April. We did not incur any start-up losses within the rehab division in prior Q3. Average daily census increased 4% and our rate per patient day increased 6%.

我們的住院復健醫院部門的季度表現非常強勁，與去年第三季相比，營收成長了 14%，調整後 EBITDA 成長了 12%。住院復健中心本季產生了 370 萬美元的啟動虧損，主要與 UF Health Jacksonville 於 9 月底開幕和我們的 Rush Specialty 醫院復健中心於 4 月開業有關。在之前的第三季度，我們的康復部門沒有遭受任何啟動損失。平均每日人口普查增加了 4%，每位患者每天的普查率增加了 6%。

Our occupancy of 82% was 2% lower than prior year 84%, which is a result of our new hospitals. The adjusted EBITDA margin for inpatient rehab was 21.3% for Q3, which was lower than prior year margin of 21.7%, again, due to new hospital start-up losses. Our same-store adjusted EBITDA margin was 23.4% for the quarter.

我們的入住率達到 82%，比去年的 84% 下降了 2%，這是我們新建醫院的結果。第三季住院復健治療的調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 21.3%，低於去年同期的 21.7%，也是因為新醫院開辦虧損所致。本季我們的同店調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 23.4%。

Concentra experienced increases of 3% in both net revenue and adjusted EBITDA over prior year same quarter. The increase in revenue was driven primarily by a 4% increase in rate, which was attributable to workers' comp state fee schedule increases, consistent with the first half of the year, Concentra workers' comp volume remained strong with an increase of 2% from prior year Q3. This volume was offset by a 4% decrease in employer base visits, which are reimbursed at lower rates. The demand for employer-based visits have normalized as the labor force has stabilized compared to the COVID years where we experienced significant churn in labor force.

Concentra 的淨收入和調整後 EBITDA 比去年同期成長了 3%。收入成長主要是由於費率成長了 4%，這是由於工人補償國家費用表的增加，與今年上半年一致，Concentra 工人補償量保持強勁，比去年同期增長了 2%。這一數量被雇主基礎訪問量減少 4% 所抵消，而雇主訪問量的報銷率較低。與新冠疫情時期勞動力大幅流失相比，隨著勞動力趨於穩定，雇主探訪的需求已正常化。

Concentra's adjusted EBITDA margin was 20.7% for the quarter compared to 20.9% same quarter prior year. Our outpatient rehab division experienced an increase of 7% in revenue with patient volumes increasing by 6% and our net revenue per visit increasing from $100 prior year Q3 to $101, Q3 of this year. Our volumes continues to maintain an upward trend and net revenue per visit has increased with continued improvement in commercial and managed care rates, offset by the decrease in our Medicare rates.

Concentra 本季調整後 EBITDA 利潤率為 20.7%，去年同期為 20.9%。我們的門診復健部門收入增加了 7%，患者數量增加了 6%，每次就診的淨收入從去年第三季的 100 美元增加到今年第三季的 101 美元。隨著商業和管理式醫療費率的持續改善，我們的業務量繼續保持上升趨勢，每次就診的淨收入也有所增加，但被我們的醫療保險費率的下降所抵消。

The outpatient division's adjusted EBITDA increased by 7%, compared to prior year, and the adjusted EBITDA margin increased from 9% to 9.1%. The outpatient team continues to focus on improving patient access, productivity and staffing. EPS was $0.43 per share for the third quarter compared to $0.38 per share in the same quarter prior year. Adjusted EPS was $0.50 per share compared to adjusted EPS of $0.46 per share Q3 of the prior year.

與前一年相比，門診部門調整後的 EBITDA 成長了 7%，調整後的 EBITDA 利潤率從 9% 成長至 9.1%。門診團隊持續致力於改善患者就診、生產力和人員配置。第三季每股收益為 0.43 美元，去年同期為每股 0.38 美元。調整後每股收益為 0.50 美元，而去年第三季調整後每股收益為 0.46 美元。

In regards to our allocation and deployment of capital, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.125 payable on November 26, 2024, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 13, 2024. This past quarter, we did not repurchase shares under our Board-authorized share repurchase program. We will continue to evaluate stock repurchases, reduction of debt and development opportunities.

關於我們的資本分配和部署，我們的董事會宣佈於 2024 年 11 月 26 日向截至 2024 年 11 月 13 日收盤時在冊的股東支付 0.125 美元的現金股息。上個季度，我們沒有根據董事會授權的股票回購計畫回購股票。我們將繼續評估股票回購、減少債務和發展機會。

In closing, I'd like to acknowledge the passing this past week of my father, my co-founder and our Chairman Emeritus, Rocco Ortenzio. Rocco was a visionary and force in the health care industry for over six decades. The last 28 years at Select Medical, where he was instrumental in guiding our company's success. You will be deeply missed, but his legacy of leadership will carry forward.

最後，我謹向我的父親、我的聯合創始人兼名譽主席羅科·奧坦齊奧 (Rocco Ortenzio) 在過去的一周去世表示感謝。六十多年來，Rocco 一直是醫療保健行業的一位富有遠見和力量的人。在過去的 28 年裡，他在 Select Medical 工作，為指導我們公司的成功發揮了重要作用。我們將深深懷念您，但他的領導遺產將繼續發揚光大。

That concludes my remarks, and I'll now turn it over to Marty Jackson for some additional financial details before we open the call up for questions.

我的演講到此結束，在我們開始提問之前，我現在將其轉交給馬蒂傑克遜，以獲取一些額外的財務細節。

Thanks, Bob, and good morning, everyone. I will begin by providing additional details on the progress we continue to make regarding our labor cost within the critical illness recovery hospital division. Overall, our SWB as a percentage of revenue ratio was 58.1% this quarter, which is a decrease from 58.4% in Q3 of prior year.

謝謝鮑勃，大家早安。首先，我將提供更多詳細信息，介紹我們在危重病復健醫院部門的勞動力成本方面繼續取得的進展。整體而言，本季我們的主觀幸福感佔營收比例為 58.1%，較去年第三季的 58.4% 有所下降。

In the third quarter of this year, we again saw decreases in agency costs and utilization from the prior year of Q3. Compared to Q3 of '23, RN agency costs decreased by 4%, and utilization decreased from 15.4% to 14.7%. Agency utilization also dropped 6% from the sequential quarter Q2, which was 15.7%. The agency rate for RNs remained consistent with prior year at $78 an hour.

今年第三季度，我們再次看到代理成本和利用率較去年第三季有所下降。與 23 年第三季相比，RN 代理成本下降了 4%，利用率從 15.4% 下降至 14.7%。代理商利用率也比第二季的 15.7% 下降了 6%。註冊護士的代理費率與去年一致，為每小時 78 美元。

Nursing sign-on and incentive bonus dollars decreased by 18% from Q3 of prior year, from $7.8 million to $6.4 million. Finally, we saw a decrease of 13% in our orientation hours. We're very pleased with the continued progress we have made in regards to these labor costs. On July 26, Concentra entered into financing arrangements as Bob had mentioned on their $850 million, seven-year term loan, $400 million five-year revolver, which is undrawn and $650 million 6.78% senior notes, which is due 2032.

護理簽約和獎勵獎金較上年第三季下降 18%，從 780 萬美元降至 640 萬美元。最後，我們發現迎新時間減少了 13%。我們對在這些勞動成本方面取得的持續進展感到非常高興。7 月26 日，Concentra 就其8.5 億美元的七年期定期貸款、4 億美元的未提取五年期循環貸款以及6.5 億美元、年息6.78% 的優先票據（將於2032 年到期）達成了融資安排。

Using these proceeds from the Concentra IPO and debt transactions, Select made voluntary prepayments $1.6 billion on our term loan and $300 million repayment on our revolving credit facility. At the end of July, we also decreased our revolving credit facility by $220 million from $770 million to $550 million. And as of September 30, we had almost $500 million of availability on our revolver. The net decrease in our consolidated debt balance in Q3 was $498 million. At the end of the quarter, we had consolidated debt balances outstanding of $3.1 billion, $191.5 million of cash on the balance sheet.

Select 利用 Concentra IPO 和債務交易的收益，自願預付了 16 億美元的定期貸款，並償還了 3 億美元的循環信貸額度。7 月底，我們也將循環信貸額度從 7.7 億美元減少到 5.5 億美元，減少了 2.2 億美元。截至 9 月 30 日，我們的左輪手槍有近 5 億美元的可用空間。第三季我們的合併債務餘額淨減少為 4.98 億美元。截至本季末，我們的合併未償債務餘額為 31 億美元，資產負債表上的現金為 1.915 億美元。

Our consolidated leverage at the end of the quarter was 3.38x compared to 4.13x last quarter. Total Select debt at the end of the quarter included $1.2 billion, the 6.25% senior notes, $373 million in term loans and $10 million on our revolver. And we also had $448 million of other miscellaneous debt.

本季末我們的綜合槓桿率為 3.38 倍，而上季為 4.13 倍。截至本季末，精選債務總額包括 12 億美元、6.25% 的優先票據、3.73 億美元的定期貸款和 1,000 萬美元的循環貸款。我們還有 4.48 億美元的其他雜項債務。

Select ended the quarter with net leverage for our credit agreement of 3.06x. Total Concentra debt at the end of the quarter includes $850 million term loan, $650 million of the senior and [7/8] senior notes, $7.6 million of other miscellaneous debt. Concentra ended the quarter with net leverage of 3.7x.

Select 本季末的信貸協議淨槓桿率為 3.06 倍。本季末的 Concentra 債務總額包括 8.5 億美元的定期貸款、6.5 億美元的優先票據和 [7/8] 優先票據、760 萬美元的其他雜項債務。Concentra 本季末的淨槓桿率為 3.7 倍。

Effective with September 30, 2024, reporting, Concentra has been designated an unrestricted subsidiary under the Select credit agreement, and Concentra activity is no longer included in the Select credit agreement computations. Interest expense was $55.4 million in the third quarter. This compares to $50.3 million in the same quarter prior year. The increase in interest expense was principally due to the accelerated recognition of the gain on our interest rate hedge $13.7 million in the second quarter due to the expected prepayment of our term loan, which occurred in Q3. This increase was mitigated by the net debt reduction and lower interest rates on Concentra debt.

自 2024 年 9 月 30 日起，Concentra 已被指定為 Select 信貸協議下的非限制性子公司，Concentra 活動不再包含在 Select 信貸協議計算中。第三季利息支出為 5,540 萬美元。相比之下，去年同期為 5,030 萬美元。利息支出的增加主要是由於我們在第三季預期提前償還定期貸款，因此在第二季加速確認了我們的利率對沖收益 1,370 萬美元。這一增長因淨債務減少和 Concentra 債務利率降低而得到緩解。

For the third-quarter, operating activities provided $181 million in cash flow. Our days sales outstanding, or DSO, was 55 days as of September 30, 2024. This compares to 52 days, September 30, 2023; 56 days on June 30 of '24; and 58 days as of March 31, 2024. We continue to see improvement in our DSO every quarter as the claims processing backlog that resulted from the change health care cyber incident resolves itself. We expect to continue to see improvement in Q4.

第三季度，經營活動提供了 1.81 億美元的現金流。截至 2024 年 9 月 30 日，我們的應收帳款天數 (DSO) 為 55 天。相較之下，2023 年 9 月 30 日為 52 天； 24年6月30日56天；截至 2024 年 3 月 31 日為 58 天。隨著醫療保健網路事件變化導致的索賠處理積壓問題自行解決，我們每季的 DSO 都在不斷改善。我們預計第四季將繼續看到改善。

Investing activities used $45.1 million of cash in the third quarter. This is primarily due to almost $51 million in purchases of property, equipment and other assets, offset by sales of assets. Financing activities used $55.6 million of cash in the third quarter. We had $511.2 million in proceeds from the Concentra's IPO, almost $837 million in net proceeds from Concentra term loan and $637 million net closures from the issuance of Concentra senior notes.

第三季投資活動使用了 4,510 萬美元現金。這主要是由於購買了近 5,100 萬美元的財產、設備和其他資產，並被資產出售所抵消。第三季融資活動使用了 5,560 萬美元現金。我們從 Concentra 的 IPO 中獲得了 5.112 億美元的收益，從 Concentra 定期貸款中獲得了近 8.37 億美元的淨收益，從發行 Concentra 優先票據中獲得了 6.37 億美元的淨收益。

These proceeds were used to offset primarily by $1.6 billion payment on Select term loan, $335 million in net payments on our revolver, $15.2 million in dividends on our common stock and $9.4 million in net payments on other debt.

這些收益主要用於抵銷 16 億美元的精選定期貸款付款、3.35 億美元的左輪手槍淨付款、1,520 萬美元的普通股股息和 940 萬美元的其他債務淨付款。

As stated previously, we did not repurchase any shares under our board authorized repurchase program this quarter. Last year, the Board approved a two-year extension of the share repurchase program, which remains in effect until December 31, 2025, unless further extended or earlier terminated by the Board. We are updating our business outlook for '24.

如前所述，本季我們沒有根據董事會授權的回購計畫回購任何股票。去年，董事會批准將股票回購計畫延長兩年，該計畫有效期至 2025 年 12 月 31 日，除非董事會進一步延長或提前終止。我們正在更新 24 年的業務展望。

We now expect revenue to be in the range of $6.95 billion to $7.15 billion, adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $865 million to $885 million. Fully diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.01 to $2.12 and adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $2.09 to $2.20. Capital expenditures are expected to be in the range of $200 million to $250 million for this year.

我們目前預計營收將在 69.5 億美元至 71.5 億美元之間，調整後 EBITDA 將在 8.65 億美元至 8.85 億美元之間。完全稀釋每股盈餘將在2.01美元至2.12美元之間，調整後每股盈餘將在2.09美元至2.20美元之間。今年的資本支出預計在 2 億至 2.5 億美元之間。

That concludes our prepared remarks. And at this time, we would like to turn it back to the operator to open up the call for questions.

我們準備好的演講到此結束。此時，我們想將其轉回給接線員以打開提問電話。

(Operator Instructions) Ben Hendrix, RBC Capital Markets.

（操作員指令）Ben Hendrix，RBC 資本市場。

First, to Bob, our deepest condolences for Rocco's passing. Our thoughts are certainly with you there. And just a second question, I guess, for Marty, I just wanted to get some more comments on LTAC occupancy trends. I think we may have misconstrued some seasonal occupancy trends as staffing related. It doesn't sound like that's the case. Maybe you could provide just some more detail on kind of what you're seeing from an occupancy standpoint, in that segment versus your targets? And if there's any outlier threshold influence there.

首先，我們對羅科的去世向鮑伯表示最深切的哀悼。我們的想法肯定與你們同在。我想，對於馬蒂來說，還有第二個問題，我只是想獲得一些關於 LTAC 入住趨勢的更多評論。我認為我們可能將一些季節性入住趨勢誤解為與人員配置相關。聽起來並非如此。也許您可以提供一些更多細節，說明您從入住率的角度看到的情況，在該細分市場與您的目標相比？以及是否存在任何異常閾值影響。

Yes. Ben, the occupancy rate for this past quarter, I mean, we were actually pretty pleased with it. It was higher than prior year same quarter. And it really is seasonality of the third quarter. So it really didn't have anything to do with staffing issues. It's really just a function of the quarter.

是的。本，我的意思是，我們對上個季度的入住率實際上非常滿意。高於去年同期。這確實是第三季的季節性。所以這確實與人員問題沒有任何關係。這實際上只是季度的函數。

And anything that you can comment on observations on outlier thresholds impacting the segment at all?

您對影響該細分市場的異常值閾值的觀察有何評論？

Our operators have done a very good job managing through the high-cost outlier. So we really haven't seen too much of an impact there.

我們的操作員在管理高成本異常值方面做得非常好。所以我們確實沒有看到太大的影響。

Justin Bowers, Deutsche Bank.

賈斯汀·鮑爾斯，德意志銀行。

Bob, condolences to you and your family. When I look at pro forma net leverage post spin, I arrive around a number of about 3x, maybe a little lower than that. The company is going to generate a substantial amount of free cash flow, even after all the development projects that you laid out. Any thoughts or preferences on capital deployment, given what we know now? And is there sort of an optimal leverage range for the company? Or would you sort of even take that down to two or that level?

鮑勃，向你和你的家人表示哀悼。當我查看旋轉後的預估淨槓桿時，我得到的數字約為 3 倍，可能比這個數字低一點。即使在您佈置了所有開發項目之後，公司仍將產生大量自由現金流。根據我們現在所知，對資本部署有什麼想法或偏好嗎？公司是否存在最佳槓桿範圍？或者你會把它降低到兩個或那個水平？

Thanks, Justin, and thanks for your comments for my dad. Yes, I mean I think that -- I hate to say that the answer has kind of always been similar from Marty on capital deployment. We do kind of pride ourselves on our history of being opportunistic on our deployment. We are fortunate to have lots of opportunities in the development area, as you saw from my comments on some deals that we have, and there's others behind that.

謝謝賈斯汀，也謝謝你對我爸爸的評論。是的，我的意思是我認為——我不想說馬蒂在資本部署方面的答案總是相似的。我們確實對我們在部署中投機取巧的歷史感到自豪。我們很幸運，在開發領域擁有很多機會，正如您從我對我們所擁有的一些交易的評論中看到的，而且背後還有其他交易。

So I would describe our development pipeline is quite robust right now. And then there is obviously the opportunity to deleverage through free cash flow or have stock buybacks and all options are on the table as they -- as we'd like to always have them. I will say that we have worked hard to drive our leverage down to 3x. And we've gotten some uplift from the rating agencies as you've seen. We're pleased with that, and we would like very much and it's a priority to maintain that. So I think a 3x leverage is very good for us, very positive allows us to keep all of our options open.

所以我想說我們的開發管道現在非常強大。然後顯然有機會透過自由現金流去槓桿化或進行股票回購，所有選擇都在桌面上——因為我們希望始終擁有它們。我想說的是，我們已經努力將槓桿率降低至 3 倍。正如您所看到的，我們從評級機構獲得了一些提升。我們對此感到滿意，我們非常希望，並且維持這一點是我們的首要任務。所以我認為 3 倍槓桿對我們來說非常好，非常積極地讓我們保留所有的選擇。

And I think as we go forward as a smaller company without Concentra, we want to maintain that flexibility. So I would say that's a long answer to say 3x is really where we want to be, and we want to try to maintain that. And then we want to be opportunistic in terms of where we allocate our free cash flow.

我認為，當我們作為一家沒有 Concentra 的小公司繼續前進時，我們希望保持這種靈活性。所以我想說，這個答案很長，因為 3 倍確實是我們想要達到的目標，我們希望努力維持這個目標。然後我們希望在分配自由現金流方面保持機會主義。

Understood. And then two just quick clarifications. On LTAC development, it sounds like there's -- at least through 2026, there's one program that you have or project that you have line of sight on. Is that right, with 26 additional beds?

明白了。然後是兩個簡單的澄清。在 LTAC 開發方面，聽起來至少到 2026 年，您已經擁有或規劃了一個專案。是嗎，加了26張床位？

Well, there are other opportunities. We've only listed one. I mean we find as that business is evolving with the threshold levels, making that business even tougher. Our operators are navigating. We have a very big platform.

嗯，還有其他機會。我們只列出了一項。我的意思是，我們發現，隨著該業務隨著閾值水平的發展，該業務變得更加困難。我們的操作員正在導航。我們有一個非常大的平台。

We are finding that a lot of our new LTAC development projects are bleeding into our partnerships, our existing ones and our new ones as we continue to perform very well with our partners on inpatient and outpatient rehab. LTAC has become a part of that model, which we like. We will also do some de novos. But it is not a place where we won't spend capital. But as we look across our business segments and on the hospitals, bigger opportunities for capital deployment on rehab, and then also some on outpatient, although that's relatively modest.

我們發現，隨著我們與合作夥伴在住院和門診復健方面繼續表現出色，許多新的 LTAC 開發項目正在滲透到我們的合作夥伴關係、現有合作夥伴關係和新合作夥伴關係中。LTAC 已成為該模型的一部分，我們對此表示歡迎。我們還將做一些從頭開始的工作。但這並不是我們不會花費資本的地方。但當我們縱觀我們的業務部門和醫院時，在康復方面以及在門診方面也有一些資本部署的更大機會，儘管這相對較小。

On the LTAC side, we would like to grow, but we are not looking to have really large capital deployment in that area. So it's another way of saying is we like the hospital within a hospital model, which is less capital intensive. So we will look for those opportunities.

在 LTAC 方面，我們希望實現成長，但我們不希望在該領域進行大規模的資本部署。換句話說，我們喜歡醫院模式的醫院，這種模​​式資本密集程度較低。所以我們會尋找這些機會。

So the LTACs will continue to be a growth segment for us. And -- but with our platform, we can be a little bit more judicious on our capital and find opportunities where we can grow in the LTAC space without a lot of capital and then continue to allocate that primarily right now because of the opportunities on the inpatient rehab side.

因此，LTAC 將繼續成為我們的成長部分。而且，透過我們的平台，我們可以對我們的資本更加明智，並找到無需大量資本即可在 LTAC 領域實現增長的機會，然後繼續主要現在進行分配，因為 LTAC 領域的機會住院康復一側。

Got it. And then one just quick one. On the IRF rates, I think in the 2Q call, you talked about 2% for the federal funds base rate. And then the final rule said basically like 3% net market basket net of productivity. Can you just square those two for us, at least on the Medicare side? Is the right way to think about sort of like the base rate is 3%?

知道了。然後一個只是快速的一個。關於 IRF 利率，我認為在第二季的電話會議中，您談到了 2% 的聯邦基金基本利率。最後的規則基本上是說，淨市場籃子生產力的淨值是 3%。您能否為我們將這兩者平方，至少在醫療保險方面？基本利率是 3% 是正確的思考方式嗎？

Yes, Justin, this is Martin. Yes, we think it is in that 3% range.

是的，賈斯汀，這是馬丁。是的，我們認為它在 3% 的範圍內。

Bill Sutherland, The Benchmark Company.

比爾·薩瑟蘭，基準公司。

My condolences as well on Rocco's passing, a great guy. I had one question on LTAC. Noticing on fewer hospital listed as of the last quarter, was there a removal or something from the portfolio?

我對羅科的去世表示哀悼，他是個偉大的人。我有一個關於 LTAC 的問題。注意到上個季度列出的醫院數量減少了，是否有從投資組合中刪除或進行其他操作？

Hold on just for a second, Bill. I think we saw a reduction from a year ago.

等一下，比爾。我認為我們看到比一年前有所減少。

Maybe I was wrong. I thought you were 107, you -- okay, maybe I was wrong, but the second quarter is -- it was already at 106.

也許我錯了。我以為你是 107，你——好吧，也許我錯了，但第二季——已經是 106 了。

Yes, we're looking right now, Bill. I think we did close. Yes, you're right. We did close one in Ohio.

是的，我們現在正在尋找，比爾。我想我們確實關閉了。是的，你說得對。我們在俄亥俄州關閉了一家。

Okay. Just underperforming or --

好的。只是表現不佳或--

Yes, it was a consolidation, Bill.

是的，這是一次合併，比爾。

Okay. All right. Marty, while I've got you, what are you thinking about as far as additional progress you can make on SWB as a percent of revenue? Is there more wood to chop?

好的。好的。Marty，既然我已經了解了您的情況，那麼就您在 SWB 上可以取得的額外進展（佔收入的百分比）而言，您有何想法？還有更多的木頭要砍嗎？

Yes. We think that there is, Bill. Where we -- the numbers that we provide for our targets are really annual. We think, we'll probably end this year in that 57% range. As you know, we started off very well in the first quarter in that 54%, 55% range.

是的。我們認為是有的，比爾。我們為目標提供的數字實際上是每年的。我們認為，今年結束時我們可能會保持在 57% 的範圍內。如您所知，我們在第一季的開局非常好，在 54%、55% 的範圍內。

And so next year, we think we can see that come down.

所以明年，我們認為我們可以看到這種情況下降。

And there's really two points that are going to drive that. One is the commercial contracts we continue to have some success on the negotiation of our commercial contracts. If we can obtain what we've done in the past year, being that mid-range single-digit increases, that will certainly help that number come down.

實際上有兩點會推動這一點。一是商業合同，我們在商業合同談判方面繼續取得一些成功。如果我們能夠取得去年所做的成績，也就是中等個位數的成長，那肯定會幫助這個數字下降。

The second one is volume increases. Volume increases has a big impact on the ability to drive that number down. And the hope is that -- given the CMS mandate, that Medicare Advantage follow traditional Medicare patient criteria that we'll see improvements in the preauthorization admission approval rates of Medicare Advantage. So if that occurs that SWB as a percentage of revenue will continue to drop.

第二個是成交量的增加。銷量的增加對降低這一數字的能力有很大影響。希望 - 鑑於 CMS 的授權，Medicare Advantage 遵循傳統的 Medicare 患者標準，我們將看到 Medicare Advantage 的預授權入院批准率有所提高。因此，如果這種情況發生，主觀幸福感佔收入的百分比將繼續下降。

Got it. And then looking at outpatient rehab and the progress you're making steadily here, kind of what are the keys for the next sort of step up? I know that -- it's a business that you run in the mid-teens margin area in the past. I'm not sure what's on your -- what's on the planner for progress forward from here?

知道了。然後看看門診復健以及您在這裡穩步取得的進展，下一步的關鍵是什麼？我知道——這是一家你過去經營的利潤率在十幾歲左右的企業。我不確定你的計劃中有什麼關於從現在開始取得進展的內容？

Yes. Bill, one of the major movers for us is our clinical efficiency. Clinical efficiency being the number of patients that therapists can see in a day. And we've really kind of focused over the past year in doing -- using technology to help us do that. We've got a very significant release that's occurring on the end of the year, and we think that, that will be a game changer. That will be a big help for us. So we anticipate, we'll see some nice improvement in the margins come next year.

是的。比爾，我們的主要推動者之一是我們的臨床效率。臨床效率是指治療師一天內可以診治的病人數量。在過去的一年裡，我們確實專注於利用科技來幫助我們做到這一點。我們將在今年年底發布一個非常重要的版本，我們認為這將改變遊戲規則。這對我們來說會有很大的幫助。因此，我們預計明年的利潤率會出現一些不錯的改善。

Was that an internally developed system or -- I'm just curious?

這是一個內部開發的系統還是──我只是好奇？

Yes. Yes, it was.

是的。是的，確實如此。

Joanna Gajuk, Bank of America.

喬安娜·加尤克，美國銀行。

This is Christian Porter on for Joanna. I also wanted to add my condolences. Our question was about outpatient rehab. So margins came in much better than our estimate. And we just wanted to know if you could talk about your efforts to improve efficiency One of your peers saw higher contract labor costs in Q2, and we were wondering if you were seeing any of that and just trends around volume, staffing and pricing?

我是克里斯蒂安·波特為喬安娜配音。我也想表達我的哀悼。我們的問題是關於門診復健。因此，利潤率比我們的估計好得多。我們只是想知道您是否可以談談您為提高效率所做的努力您的一位同行在第二季度看到了更高的合約勞動力成本，我們想知道您是否看到了其中任何一個以及圍繞數量、人員配置和定價的趨勢？

Yes. I mean, there's a couple of questions that you put there. I think what we saw was -- the first one I'll focus on is really taking a look at supplemental staffing, the agency staffing. We've seen that decline sequentially. And so that certainly helped the margin. And then I think we talked with the prior caller with Bill on what we're doing on the technology side through our systems to help enhance our clinical efficiency. So both of those, we think, will -- one has helped them just recently, we think the technology will certainly help in the future.

是的。我的意思是，你在那裡提出了幾個問題。我認為我們看到的是——我要關注的第一個問題是真正關注補充人員配置，即機構人員配置。我們看到這一數字連續下降。所以這肯定有助於利潤。然後我想我們與前一位來電者比爾討論了我們正在透過我們的系統在技術方面所做的事情，以幫助提高我們的臨床效率。因此，我們認為，這兩者都會——其中一個最近才幫助了他們，我們認為這項技術肯定會在未來有所幫助。

And I would now like to turn the call back to management for closing remarks.

現在我想將電話轉回給管理階層，讓他們發表結束語。

Thank you, operator. No closing remarks. We appreciate everybody who was on, your questions and your condolences to Rocco. So thank you. We look forward to updating you next quarter.

謝謝你，接線生。沒有結束語。我們感謝所有參與其中的人、你們提出的問題以及你們對羅科的哀悼。所以謝謝你。我們期待下個季度為您提供最新資訊。

And this concludes today's conference. Thank you for your participation. You may now disconnect.

今天的會議到此結束。感謝您的參與。您現在可以斷開連線。