Care Enterprises More Than Doubles Quarterly Profits

TUSTIN —  Increases in higher-profit services, such as speech and occupational therapy, increased Care Enterprises Inc.’s third-quarter earnings to $1,274,000, or 11 cents per share, from $479,000, or 5 cents per share, in the same quarter of 1991, the company reported.

The Tustin-based company also reported a profit of $2,502,000, or 22 cents per share, on revenue of $142,857,000 for the nine months ending Sept. 30.

The company operates 52 nursing and rehabilitation centers in California, New Mexico, Ohio and West Virginia, and home health care agencies in California and Ohio.

Part of the increased earnings is due to $670,000 in favorable settlements from previously disallowed Medicare payments, Chief Financial Officer Gary L. Massimino said. That increase combines with $758,000 of 1990 Medicaid settlements recorded in second-quarter 1992 for a total of $1,428,000 for the nine months ending Sept. 30.

The company, which emerged from bankruptcy in December, 1990, has benefited from increased occupancy at its facilities and the sale of an unprofitable nursing home in San Diego, Massimino said. Care Enterprises is looking to future earnings by increasingly offering more higher-profit specialized care, such as treatment for patients with AIDS and Alzheimer’s disease, he said.