Newport Beach-based Alliance Imaging Inc., a provider of medical scanning and cancer treatment services, affirmed its 2008 outlook and forecast 2009 results in line or exceeding Wall Street’s estimates.
For the year, Alliance Imaging expects $174 million to $184 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and stock compensation costs.
Revenue is projected at $486 million to $496 million.
Analysts on average expect earnings of $173.6 million on $493.8 million in sales.
For next year, the company forecast earnings of $187 million to $202 million and sales of $536 million to $551 million.
Analysts had been expecting $189.9 million in 2009 earnings on revenue of $533.6 million.
Alliance provides diagnostic medical scans to hospitals and other healthcare providers.
The company also has been expanding into centers that provide chemotherapy to cancer patients.
It’s made a string of recent acquisitions for both businesses.
Earlier this week, Alliance said it bought Shared P.E.T. Imaging Inc. of Canton, Ohio, for $43 million in cash and debt.
Alliance also is buying out University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s stake in cancer treatment provider Alliance Oncology LLC for about $6.5 million in cash.
The company runs about 90 imaging centers and has joint ventures for four more.
Alliance said it expects to open 20 to 25 imaging centers during 2009 and acquire four to six others.
It and other scanning service providers are looking to expand scanning services as hospitals that got into the business look to outsource operations because of high equipment costs and reimbursement cuts from insurers and the federal Medicare program.
