Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) We will pause for just a moment to compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from Adam Feinstein.
Adam Feinstein - Lehman Brothers
Thank you. Just, maybe to starting with Las Vegas, I assume I heard that the numbers that you highlighted before, as you said with Centennial Hills but to a 10% increase in total volumes but on a same-store basis. I just wanted to make sure, I got the right number?
Steve Filton
Sure. I didn’t give the same-store number but on a same-store basis the Vegas admissions were up modestly better than our overall Acute Care performance but, obviously still depressed somewhat by the Centennial cannibalization.
Adam Feinstein - Lehman Brothers
As we think of that kind of EBITDA growth or EBIT growth for Vegas, just wanted to figure out if margins moved higher in other quarter? So if admissions were up slightly was EBITDA up slightly as well?
Steve Filton
No I think, over all profitability was relatively flat meaning that their operating margins were down slightly. I think as we would expect with the opening of the Centennial, clearly our operating margins in Vegas prior to the opening of Centennial were better than our average Acute Care operating margins. Once Centennial opens, even though Centennial was very slightly EBITDA positive in the third quarter, it clearly drags the margins of the market down.
Again, I think those are dynamics that we saw when we opened Spring Valley in late 2004 or 2003, I'm not remembering exactly, but I think what we saw is within four or five quarters of its opening its margins and the margins of the market got back to normalized level and we would expect the same with Centennial early in 2009.
Adam Feinstein - Lehman Brothers
Okay. All right and just one more question on Vegas. Clearly it seems like you guys are holding a pretty well even with the economy being some what tough out there. So it seems like your market share growth is not really helping. What else are you guys doing out there? Are there opportunities to cut costs? Are there still some pricing opportunities? Curious as how you guys are thinking about weathering the storm in terms of how we should think about that important market?
Steve Filton
I mean in fairness, Adam, I don't know that we are doing, our approach in Las Vegas is wholly different and then it is everywhere else. Our volumes as we discussed with your sort of opening comments and questions are actually holding up fairly well. So, it's difficult to cut expenses in a very significant way.
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