Oct 21 (Reuters) - HCA Healthcare Inc (HCA.N) on Friday reported lower-than-expected third-quarter revenue as hospital admissions related to COVID-19 dropped, dragging its shares nearly 5% lower in premarket trade.
The decline in COVID-related admissions, which had peaked due to the Delta variant-led wave last year, led to a 1.5% drop in overall same facility admissions, and a 3.5% fall in same facility revenue per equivalent admission.
Total revenue fell 2% to $14.97 billion, falling short of analysts' estimates of $15 billion, as per Refinitiv IBES data.
Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterA similar trend was also seen at rival Tenet Healthcare Corp (THC.N), which also saw a decline in same-hospital admissions and revenue.
Excluding one-off items, HCA reported earnings of $3.93 per share, above estimates of $3.88 per share.