Air Methods Shares Surge 6% As Q2 Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Shares of Air Methods Corp. (AIRM) gained nearly six percent in extended trading on Thursday after the air medical transportation provider reported results for the second quarter that topped analysts' expectations.

The company also reported a profit for the quarter that surged 50 percent from last year, reflecting lower fuel and maintenance expenses as well as double-digit revenue growth amid higher net revenue per patient transport.

"During our second quarter, we continued to experience strong growth in both revenue and earnings. Increase in community-based operating locations and average flight volumes, more moderate weather and maintenance expenditures, dividends from safe flight operations, and accretive results from recent diversification into helicopter tourism have all contributed to this success," CEO Aaron Todd said in a statement.

The Englewood, Colorado-based air medical emergency transport services and systems provider reported net income of $28.79 million or $0.73 per share for the second quarter, higher than $19.15 million or $0.49 per share in the prior-year quarter.

On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $0.66 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Total revenue for the quarter increased 14 percent to $258.47 million from $226.21 in the same quarter last year, and topped six Wall Street analysts' consensus estimate of $251.90.

Air Medical Services revenue increased 7 percent to $220 million, tourism revenue grew to $31.4 million from $16.0 million, and United Rotorcraft division's external revenue surged 51 percent to $7.4 million from the prior-year quarter. Revenue generated from Blue Hawaiian Helicopters in the quarter was $14.0 million.

Total patient transports during the quarter improved 7 percent to 14,994 from last year's 13,984. Net revenue per patient transport increased 7 percent to $11,353 from $10,650 in the prior-year quarter.

Same-base patient transports for community bases for the quarter grew 3 percent or 333 transports, while weather cancellations for these same bases decreased by 333 transports.

Maintenance expense, excluding tourism operations, decreased 17 percent from last year, as flight volume declined 7 percent. Excluding tourism operations, fuel expense per hour flown also decreased 4 percent.

Air Methods also provided an update on preliminary July 2014 flight volume. Total community-based transports for the month increased 13 percent from last year to 5,489. Same-Base Transports increased by 158 transports or 3 percent, while weather cancellations decreased by 546 transports from last year.

"The 13% growth in July community-based patient flight volumes reflects a strong start to the third quarter as well. We also anticipate continued growth in net revenue per transport based on improving payer mix trends experienced in recent months, compared with earlier winter months. We feel these factors justify our continued optimism for the second half of 2014," Todd added.

AIRM closed Thursday's regular trading session at $53.19, up $0.17 or 0.32% on a volume of 0.53 million shares. The stock surged a further $2.96 or 5.56% in after-hours trading.