• Headquarters: 18331 Von Karman Ave., Suite 400, Irvine<br>• Employees: 36,100; 139 in OC<br>• Business: Nursing home operator<br>• Market value as of April 1: $705 million<br>• 2010 revenue: $1.9 billion, up 1%<br>• 2010 net loss: $4.6 million, versus profit of $38.7 million
Year in Review
Sun Healthcare Group’s big news came in November, when it spun off its real estate holdings as Irvine’s Sabra Health Care REIT Inc.
Sun undertook the split to “unlock” the value of Sun’s real estate for shareholders, according to then-chief executive Richard Matros, who now heads Sabra.
Longtime Sun executive William Mathies stepped into the chief executive’s chair after the spinoff.
Mathies, who arrived at Sun in 2002, previously was chief operating officer and president of subsidiary SunBridge Healthcare Corp.
What’s Ahead
Mathies has said he expects Sun to be “getting back into the acquisition mode”.
The company is expected to look to build up SolAmor, its hospice business.
Sun projects a 2011 profit of $33.5 million to $37.4 million and revenue of $1.95 billion to $2 billion.
Analysts on average expect Sun to earn $35.6 million on revenue of $2 billion.
For now, Sun and its competitors are expected to see some growth from a Medicare reimbursement overhaul that took place last year.
The federal healthcare program for seniors switched to paying nursing homes per patient day, with rates based on the complexity of the services delivered, creating a larger customer base and more categories eligible for reimbursement.
Wall Street’s Take
Sun shares are up 24% since the Sabra spinoff in what has been considered a fickle market for nursing homes.
Sun is “looking forward to trends in the industry becoming more favorable,” said Brian Williams, an analyst with Nashville-based Avondale Partners LLC.
Splitting with Sabra, according to Williams, gives Sun “a little bit of dry powder to go after acquisitions, and in a market where the fundamentals are improving, that’s certainly a better position.”
