Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. (Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from the line of Paxton Scott with Jefferies & Co. Your line is open.
Paxton Scott – Jefferies & Co.
Hey guys, very nice quarter. I was hoping if you could just provide some color on any change in the trends that you saw in the business either in the LTAC or SNIP side, kind of how it trended throughout the third quarter and if there has been any material improvement or deterioration in the fourth quarter so far. Thanks.
Paul Diaz
No. I think – particularly compared to last year, we are feeling pretty good about the underlying volume trends in both businesses. The challenge is always for this time of year the significant ramp-up that we typically get from now to our jump-off in January and you sort of look at the last four or five years and it’s fairly steep, but we are seeing pretty good volume in both businesses as we are going into November here.
I think – as Rich talked about, I think it’s very important to focus on the cost management that’s occurred over the last five or six quarters in the company as we sort of weathered LTAC rate cuts and in this quarter, began to see the pressures on the Medicaid side and the nursing center business as well.
And we are continuing to be, over the long term, excited about building out our cluster market in terms of hospital development, the projects that we still have in our pipeline, and as Rich mentioned, the selective transitional care unit development, which we think again over the long term is an opportunity for us to grow both our commercial and Medicare businesses.
Paxton Scott – Jefferies & Co.
Okay, great. And just on the guidance. I guess you effectively took down your 2009 EBITDA guidance slightly. So one, I was hoping you could just touch on that and then two, if you could just kind of give us your thoughts on both volume and pricing as you built our your guidance for 2010? Thanks.
Rich Lechleiter
Yes, Paxton. This is Rich. Good morning. I think – effectively as we think about the '09 guidance, which I think you are referring to, we effectively raised it by the amount of the out-performance in Q3 while effectively maintaining what we thought around Q4. Some of the line items may have changed a bit with respect to rents and interest and EBITDA, but overall I think our view – our implicit view around Q4 back in August was around $0.30 to $0.35.
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