Healthcare Services Group, Inc.

Hello, my name is Chris and I'll be your conference operator today. At this time, I'd like to welcome everyone to the HCSG 2023 second quarter earnings call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you'd like to ask a question during this time, simply press star, then the number one on your telephone keypad. To withdraw your question, please press star one again. The matters discussed on today's conference call include forward-looking statements by the business prospects of Healthcare Services Group, Inc. For Healthcare Services Group, Inc.'s most recent forward-looking statement notice, please refer to the press release issued this morning, which can be found on our website, www.hcsg.com. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied as a result of various risks, uncertainties, and important factors. including those discussed in the risk factors, MD&A, and other sections of the annual report on Form 10-K and Health Care Service Group, Inc.'s other SEC filings, and as indicated in our most recent forward-looking statements notice. Additionally, management will be discussing certain non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of these items to U.S. GAAP can be found in this morning's press release. Thank you. Ted Wahl, Chief Executive Officer, you may begin.

Thank you and good morning, everyone. Matt McKee and I appreciate you joining us today. We released our second quarter results this morning and plan on filing our 10Q by the end of the week. For the three months ended June 30th, 2023, we reported revenue of $418.9 million, gap net income of $8.6 million or 12 cents per share, and adjusted EBITDA of $26.3 million. Today, in my opening remarks, I'll discuss our second quarter key accomplishments as well as our outlook for the back half of the year. I'll then turn the call over to Matt for a more detailed discussion on the quarter. Overall, we delivered strong service execution during the quarter. Our KPIs related to customer experience, systems adherence, and regulatory compliance all trended positively in Q2, leading to high quality and consistent outcomes for our client partners. I'd now like to highlight our second quarter key accomplishments. The first accomplishment I'd like to highlight is our strong core earnings. For the third consecutive quarter, we achieved our direct cost target of 86% excluding CECL. We managed SG&A within our targeted range and we delivered adjusted EBITDA of 26.3 million. The second key accomplishment I'd like to highlight is collecting what we build in May and June. This achievement came on the heels of falling short of our April cash collections target as our clients braced for the May 11th expiration of the public health emergency. And although we did not meet our quarterly cash collection objectives, the results we delivered in May and June provides us with positive momentum heading into Q3 and positions us well for a strong back half of the year. Lastly, I'd like to highlight the continued progress we made in replenishing our new business pipeline during the first half of the year as we continue to have a growing pipeline of future client partners heading into the back half of 2023 and 2024. And while the timing of new business ads remains dynamic, we are planning for sequential top line growth in the second half of the year compared to the first half of the year and estimate a Q3 revenue range of 420 to 430 million. Looking ahead, industry fundamentals continue to improve and a stabilizing labor market and select state-based reimbursement increases have contributed to the gradual but steady occupancy recovery. And while there remains uncertainty as to what a minimum staffing requirement might look like for the industry, we remain hopeful that CMS will fully consider the impact on operators before finalizing a rule and have confidence in our customers' ability to manage any such rule. We enter the second half of the year with three clear priorities. The first is continuing to manage direct costs at 86% excluding CECL. The second is collecting what we bill, building on the strong momentum gained in May and June. The third and perhaps the most impactful is the realization of our business development efforts yielding new facility starts. There is a high level of internal enthusiasm as we pivot the growth mode through the back half of 2023 and into 2024. So with those introductory comments, I'll turn the call over to Matt for a more detailed discussion on our Q2 results.

Thanks, Ted. Good morning, everyone. Revenue for the quarter was reported at $418.9 million. with housekeeping and laundry and dining and nutrition segment revenues of $190.8 million and $228.1 million respectively. Housekeeping and laundry and dining and nutrition segment margins were 8.7% and 5.5% respectively. Direct cost of services was reported at $367.7 million or 87.8%. Direct costs included an $11.3 million increase in our CECL AR reserves. As Ted mentioned in his opening remarks, we again met our goal of managing the business with cost of services in line with our historical target of 86%, excluding CECL. SG&A was reported at $41.4 million. After adjusting for the $2.3 million increase in deferred compensation, actual SG&A was $39.1 million, or 9.3%. We expect 2023 SG&A between 8.5% to 9.5%. The effective tax rate was 24.6% and the company expects a 2023 tax rate of 24 to 26%. Cash flow from operations for the quarter was $7.4 million and was impacted by an $18.8 million increase in accrued payroll and a $39 million increase in accounts receivable related to the timing of cash collections. DSO for the quarter was 83 days. Also, we would point out that the Q3 payroll accrual will be seven days. That compares to the 13 days that we had in the second quarter of 2023 and the six days that we had in the third quarter of 2022. But the payroll accrual only relates to timing and the impact ultimately washes out through the full year. And with those opening remarks, we'd now like to open up the call for questions.