DENVER, Aug. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) announced financial and operating results for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.

For the quarter, diluted earnings per share from continuing operations was $2.64, an increase of 63.0% from the prior year diluted earnings per share from continuing operations and an increase of 35.4% from the prior year adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations.

"We had a strong quarter despite the continued operational challenges presented by the pandemic. Our teammates and nephrologist partners have shown tremendous dedication to caring for our patients, and we have continued to make progress in our efforts to combat COVID-19 over the past several months," said Javier Rodriguez, CEO of DaVita Inc. "Additionally, we accelerated our investments in integrated kidney care capabilities designed to improve patient outcomes, coordinate care, and lower overall costs. We have grown the number of patients under value-based care arrangements to approximately 10% of our U.S. dialysis patient census, and we expect to see significant growth in our integrated kidney care business over the next year."

Financial and operating highlights for the quarter ended June 30, 2021:

• Consolidated revenues were $2.917 billion.
• Operating income was $490 million.
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.64.
• Operating cash flow and free cash flow, both from continuing operations, were $680 million and $503 million, respectively.
• Repurchased 2,069,854 shares of our common stock at an average cost of $116.38 per share.

U.S. dialysis metrics:

Volume: Total U.S. dialysis treatments for the second quarter of 2021 were 7,413,497, or an average of 95,045 treatments per day, representing a per day change of 0.4% and (2.1)% compared to the first quarter of 2021 and second quarter of 2020, respectively. Normalized non-acquired treatment growth in the second quarter of 2021 compared to the second quarter of 2020 was (1.9)%.

Primary drivers of the changes in the table above were as follows:

Revenue: The quarter change was primarily due to favorable changes in government mix and rate, including increases due to shifts to Medicare Advantage plans, and normal seasonal improvements driven by patients meeting their co-insurance and deductibles, partially offset by a decline in hospital inpatient dialysis revenue. The year to date change was primarily due to favorable changes in government rates related to an increase in Medicare base rate for 2021 and the temporary suspension of Medicare sequestration, as well as favorable changes in government mix due to shifts to Medicare Advantage plans, increased hospital inpatient revenue and favorable changes in commercial mix.

Patient care costs: The quarter change was primarily due to decreases in labor costs driven by a decline in hospital inpatient treatments, a seasonal decrease in payroll taxes and declines in professional fees and health benefit expenses. These decreases were partially offset by increases in other direct operating expenses associated with our dialysis centers, including utilities expense resulting from lower expense in the first quarter of 2021 related to our virtual power purchase arrangements, as well as increases in medical supply expense and insurance expense. The year to date change was primarily due to increases in other direct operating expenses associated with our dialysis centers, medical supply expense, labor costs related to increased wage rates, health benefits and insurance expenses. These increases were partially offset by decreases in COVID-19-related costs, including compensation, as well as decreases in pharmaceutical unit costs and intensity, utilities expense driven by our virtual power purchase arrangements and professional fees.

General and administrative: The quarter change was primarily due to contributions to our charitable foundation and increased labor costs and long-term incentive compensation expense, partially offset by a decline in professional fees. The year to date change was primarily due to increases in labor costs, professional fees and contributions to our charitable foundation as well as increases in health benefits, payroll taxes and long-term incentive compensation expense. These increases were partially offset by decreases in COVID-19-related costs, including compensation, and travel costs.

Certain items impacting the quarter:

Share repurchases: During the three months ended June 30, 2021, we repurchased 2,069,854 shares of our common stock for $241 million, at an average cost of $116.38 per share.

Subsequent to June 30, 2021 through August 2, 2021, we repurchased 889,594 shares of our common stock for $107 million, at an average cost of $120.50 per share.

Financial and operating metrics:

Center activity: As of June 30, 2021, we provided dialysis services to a total of approximately 242,300 patients at 3,159 outpatient dialysis centers, of which 2,828 centers were located in the United States and 331 centers were located in ten countries outside of the United States. During the second quarter of 2021, we acquired one dialysis center, opened a total of 13 new dialysis centers and closed 13 dialysis centers in the United States. We also acquired five dialysis centers and opened three dialysis centers outside of the United States during the second quarter of 2021.

Outlook:

The following forward-looking measures and the underlying assumptions involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including those described below, and actual results may vary materially from these forward-looking measures. In particular, the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to generate significant risk and uncertainty, and as a result, our future results could vary materially from the guidance provided below. We do not provide guidance for operating income or diluted net income from continuing operations per share attributable to DaVita Inc. on a basis consistent with United States generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) nor a reconciliation of forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures on a forward-looking basis because we are unable to predict certain items contained in the GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts. These non-GAAP financial measures do not include certain items, including foreign currency fluctuations, which may be significant. The guidance for our effective income tax rate on adjusted income from continuing operations attributable to DaVita Inc. also excludes the amount of third party owners' income and related taxes attributable to non-tax paying entities.

We will be holding a conference call to discuss our results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021, on August 3, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To join the conference call, please dial (877) 918-6630 from the U.S. or (517) 308-9042 from outside the U.S., and provide the operator the password 'Earnings'. A replay of the conference call will be available on our website at investors.davita.com for the following 30 days.

Forward looking statements

DaVita Inc. and its representatives may from time to time make written and oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), including statements in this release, filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), reports to stockholders and in meetings with investors and analysts. All statements in this release, during the related presentation or other meetings, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and as such are intended to be covered by the safe harbor for "forward-looking statements" provided by the PSLRA. These forward-looking statements could include, among other things, DaVita's response to and the expected future impacts of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), including statements about our balance sheet and liquidity, our expenses and expense offsets, revenues, billings and collections, potential need, ability or willingness to use any funds under government relief programs, availability or cost of supplies, treatment volumes, mix expectation, such as the percentage or number of patients under commercial insurance, the availability, acceptance, impact, administration and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments or therapies, and overall impact on our patients and teammates, as well as other statements regarding our future operations, financial condition and prospects, expenses, strategic initiatives, government and commercial payment rates, expectations related to value-based care, integrated kidney care, and Medicare Advantage plan enrollment and our ongoing stock repurchase program, and statements related to our guidance and expectations for future periods and the assumptions underlying any such projections. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, statements including the words "expect," "intend," "will," "could," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "forecast," "guidance," "outlook," "goals," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on DaVita's current expectations and are based solely on information available as of the date of this release. DaVita undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changed circumstances, new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. Actual future events and results could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things:

• the continuing impact of the dynamic and evolving COVID-19 pandemic, including, without limitation, on our patients, teammates, physician partners, suppliers, business, operations, reputation, financial condition and results of operations; the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic; the availability, acceptance, impact and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines and other treatments or therapies; further spread or resurgence of the virus, including as a result of the emergence of new strains of the virus, such as the Delta variant; the continuing impact of the pandemic on our revenue and non-acquired growth due to lower treatment volumes; the pandemic's continuing impact on the U.S. and global economies, unemployment, inflation and evolving monetary policies; any potential negative impact on our commercial mix, which may persist even after the pandemic subsides; and continuing COVID-19-related costs, such as increased costs to procure equipment and clinical supplies and higher salary and wage expense, any of which may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks and uncertainties discussed below;
• the concentration of profits generated by higher-paying commercial payor plans for which there is continued downward pressure on average realized payment rates, and a reduction in the number or percentage of our patients under such plans, including, without limitation, as a result of restrictions or prohibitions on the use and/or availability of charitable premium assistance, which may result in the loss of revenues or patients, or our making incorrect assumptions about how our patients will respond to any change in financial assistance from charitable organizations;
• our ability to successfully implement our strategies with respect to home-based dialysis, value-based care and/or integrated kidney care in a complex and highly regulated environment, including, among other things, maintaining our existing business, recovering our investments, entering into agreements on competitive terms and further developing our integrated care and other capabilities to provide competitive programs at scale;
• the extent to which the ongoing implementation of healthcare reform, or changes in or new legislation, regulations or guidance, enforcement thereof or related litigation result in a reduction in coverage or reimbursement rates for our services, a reduction in the number of patients enrolled in higher-paying commercial plans or that are enrolled in or select Medicare Advantage plans or other material impacts to our business; or our making incorrect assumptions about how our patients will respond to any such developments;
• a reduction in government payment rates under the Medicare End Stage Renal Disease program or other government-based programs and the impact of the Medicare Advantage benchmark structure;
• risks arising from potential changes in laws, regulations or requirements applicable to us, such as potential and proposed federal and/or state legislation, regulation, ballot, executive action or other initiatives, including those related to healthcare and/or labor matters, such as AB 290 in California;
• the impact of the political environment and related developments on the current healthcare marketplace and on our business, including with respect to the future of the Affordable Care Act, the exchanges and many other core aspects of the current healthcare marketplace, as well as the composition of the U.S. Supreme Court and the current presidential administration and congressional majority;
• noncompliance by us or our business associates with any privacy or security laws or any security breach by us or a third party involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential information;
• changes in pharmaceutical practice patterns, reimbursement and payment policies and processes, or pharmaceutical pricing, including with respect to hypoxia inducible factors, among other things;
• legal and compliance risks, such as our continued compliance with complex government regulations;
• continued increased competition from dialysis providers and others, and other potential marketplace changes;
• our ability to maintain contracts with physician medical directors, changing affiliation models for physicians, and the emergence of new models of care introduced by the government or private sector that may erode our patient base and reimbursement rates, such as accountable care organizations, independent practice associations and integrated delivery systems;
• our ability to attract, retain and motivate teammates and our ability to manage operating cost increases or productivity decreases whether due to union organizing activities, legislative or other changes, demand for labor or other reasons;
• our ability to complete acquisitions, mergers or dispositions that we might announce or be considering, on terms favorable to us or at all, or to integrate and successfully operate any business we may acquire or have acquired, or to successfully expand our operations and services in markets outside the United States, or to businesses outside of dialysis;
• the variability of our cash flows, including without limitation any extended billing or collections cycles; the risk that we may not be able to generate or access sufficient cash in the future to service our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs; and the risk that we may not be able to refinance our indebtedness as it becomes due, on terms favorable to us or at all;
• factors that may impact our ability to repurchase stock under our stock repurchase program and the timing of any such stock repurchases, as well as our use of a considerable amount of available funds to repurchase stock;
• risks arising from the use of accounting estimates, judgments and interpretations in our financial statements;
• impairment of our goodwill, investments or other assets; and
• the other risk factors, trends and uncertainties set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and the risks and uncertainties discussed in any subsequent reports that we file or furnish with the SEC from time to time.

The financial information presented in this release is unaudited and is subject to change as a result of subsequent events or adjustments, if any, arising prior to the filing of the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.

DAVITA INC.
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA-continued
(unaudited)
(dollars in millions)

Note 1: Calculation of the Leverage Ratio

Under our senior secured credit facilities (the Credit Agreement) dated August 12, 2019, the leverage ratio is defined as (a) all funded debt plus the face amount of all letters of credit issued, minus unrestricted cash and cash equivalents (including short-term investments) not to exceed $750 divided by (b) "Consolidated EBITDA." The leverage ratio determines the interest rate margin payable by the Company for its Term Loan A and revolving line of credit under the Credit Agreement by establishing the margin over the base interest rate (LIBOR) that is applicable. The calculation below is based on the last twelve months of "Consolidated EBITDA," as of the end of the reported period and pro forma for acquisitions or divestitures that occurred during the period, and "Consolidated net debt" at the end of the reported period, each as defined in the Credit Agreement. The Company's management believes the presentation of "Consolidated EBITDA" is useful to investors to enhance their understanding of the Company's leverage ratio under its Credit Agreement. The leverage ratio calculated by the Company is a non-GAAP measure and should not be considered a substitute for the ratio of total debt to operating income, determined in accordance with GAAP. The Company's calculation of its leverage ratio might not be calculated in the same manner as, and thus might not be comparable to, similarly titled measures of other companies.