Leading healthcare information technology (HCIT) solutions
provider
Cerner Corp
(
CERN
) reported second quarter earnings per share of 56 cents, beating
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 51 cents and surpassing the
year-ago earnings of 42 cents per share.
Net income rose 35.8% year over year to $97.8 million due to
buoyant bookings and increased customer base.
Revenues
Revenues in the second quarter climbed 22% year over year to
$637.4 million, marginally beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of
$637 million.
Revenues increased on the back of Support, Maintenance and
Services (up 19.9% to $426 million), robust System sales (up 24.2%
to $195.3 million) and higher revenues from Reimbursed Travel up
36.3% to about $16.0 million.
Bookings and Revenue Backlog
Bookings came in at $700.5 million, up 8% year over year, a
record high for the company in any second quarter. Total revenue
backlog came to $6.51 billion, up 20% year over year, including
$5.80 billion of contract backlog and $714 million of support and
maintenance backlog.
Margins
Gross margin in the quarter declined to 76.9% from 81.2% in the
prior year quarter. Operating margin increased to 21.4% from 20.6%
a year ago.
Balance Sheet & Cash flow
Cerner ended the second quarter with cash, cash equivalents and
short-term investment of $980 million, up 43.7% on a year-over-year
basis. Total long-term debt and other obligations increased 48.4%
year over year to about $126 million.
Cash flow from operations was $182.8 million in the quarter, up
49.7% year over year. Free cash flow was $107.3 million, up 50.6%
year over year.
Outlook
For the third quarter of 2012, the company forecasts revenues in
a band of $635 million and $655 million and adjusted earnings per
share before share based compensation expense, in the range of 57
cents to 59 cents. Fresh bookings are estimated between $710
million and $750 million. Cerner expects stock-based compensation
to be dilutive to its earnings by about 4 cents for the third
quarter.
For 2012, the company increased its forecast revenues in the
range of $2,575 million and $2,625 million compared with the
earlier range of $2,525 million to $2,600 million. The
company also increased its expected adjusted earnings per share,
before share based compensation expense, to be in the neighborhood
of $2.32 and $2.36 compared with the earlier range of $2.25 to
$2.32. Cerner projects stock-based compensation costs to dilute
2012 earnings by about 13 cents to 14 cents.
Cerner remains the trend setter among pure-play, publicly traded
healthcare IT (HCIT) vendors. We believe Cerner has positioned
itself as one of the better placed clinical technology vendors to
benefit from high HCIT spending over the next few years. The
company is diversified not only on a global basis but serves both
hospitals and ambulatory outfits. Its integrated solutions have
captured market share.
We believe long-term investors may consider Cerner, which serves
a sizeable installed hospital base. It requires composite
clinically-focused applications complying with 'meaningful use'
requirements, reimbursement problems and complex coding challenges.
The company has long-standing, integrated and seamless solutions
for both inpatient and ambulatory settings.
On the negative side, the federal Stimulus program will
gradually wind down. Cerner faces stiff competition from
established HCIT players, such as
Athenahealth
(
ATHN
),
Allscripts-Misys
(
MDRX
) and
Quality Systems
(
QSII
) and many others in a crowded field. The company is developing
multiple growth drivers which will ensure its future growth.
We have a long-term 'Outperform' recommendation on Cerner. The
stock currently retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a
short-term Hold rating.
ATHENAHEALTH IN (ATHN): Free Stock Analysis
Report
CERNER CORP (CERN): Free Stock Analysis Report
ALLSCRIPTS HLTH (MDRX): Free Stock Analysis
Report
QUALITY SYS (QSII): Free Stock Analysis Report
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