Gentiva(R) Health Services Announces First Quarter 2008 Results and Reaffirms Financi...( MELVILLE N.Y. May 1 /- Gentiva He...),Health

MELVILLE, N.Y., May 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gentiva Health Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: GTIV), the nation's leading provider of comprehensive home health services, today reported the following financial results for the first quarter ended March 30, 2008:
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-- Net revenues increased 8% to $323.7 million versus the first quarter

ended April 1, 2007.

-- Net income increased 13% to $7.7 million, or $0.27 per diluted share,

versus $6.8 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for the prior year

period. Average diluted shares were 29.0 million versus 28.4 million in

the 2007 first quarter.

-- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)

increased 3% to $23.8 million in the first quarter of 2008. EBITDA as a

percentage of net revenues was 7.4% in the 2008 first quarter versus

7.7% in the prior year period.

-- EBITDA included restructuring and integration costs of $0.3 million for

the first quarter of 2008 as compared to $1.0 million for the prior

year period.

"Gentiva's first quarter was an important transitional period as we adapted to new Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS) rules, integrated our recent Mississippi acquisition and implemented contract renewals within CareCentrix," said Gentiva Chairman and CEO Ron Malone. "While we were pleased with our revenue growth, some of the quarter's events had a short-term, moderating effect on profitability. However, we are able to reaffirm our financial outlook for the full year, based on our review of cur
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