COMPANY PREPS FOR GROWTH THROUGH ACQUISITIONS, NEW OXYGEN BIZ
https://www.hmenews.com/article/viemed-sees-dramatic-comeback
LAFAYETTE, La. – After weathering some of its toughest months in January and February from the dual impacts of COVID-19 and a treacherous ice storm, Viemed Healthcare saw significant patient growth in March, says CEO Casey Hoyt.
“In January and February, we were admitting 65% of our pre-COVID new patients,” he said on a recent earnings call to discuss first quarter financial results*. “March was right around 90% of pre-COVID numbers. It’s a dramatic comeback (that's) consistent in April. It’s a good sign that things are opening up around the country.”
Viemed reported total revenues of $28.4 million, including $2.9 million for contract tracing services and product sales related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Revenues for its core business were $25.5 million, an increase of 12% over the same period last year.
The company is on pace to hire 65 new sales reps in 2021 to drive organic growth and the company has developed a “pipeline of opportunities” for growth through acquisitions, says Todd Zehnder, COO.
“Acquisitions were not part of our strategy in the past, but we will make them a meaningful part of expanding in 2021 and beyond,” he said. “The companies we’re evaluating are medium to large and in areas we have a geographic coverage gap.”
Viemed is especially interested in larger companies, says Hoyt.
“We’re not interested in doing 10 acquisitions worth $2 million each,” he said. “We’re really focused on quality companies with quality management teams that can carry our mission forward.”
Also contributing to Viemed’s future growth: The national rollout of its oxygen business, an area where it is making investments in sales and infrastructure.
“There’s no reason oxygen won’t be a huge growth driver for the company for years to come,” said Hoyt.