Behavioral healthcare supplier Acadia Healthcare Co. Inc. is tapping the brakes on some growth tasks as a result of coverage uncertainty across the lately handed One Massive Lovely Invoice Act, CEO Chris Hunter mentioned Aug. 6.
Acadia, which is headquartered close to Nashville, runs greater than 270 remedy facilities in 39 states and Puerto Rico. Hunter and his crew are on monitor so as to add practically 1,000 beds to its community of about 12,000 this yr. The corporate spent $586 million final yr on growth tasks and is on tempo to place to work about $500 million this yr however 2026 and 2027 growth plans are prone to characteristic smaller outlays.
“With the quantity of uncertainty created by the lately handed Massive Lovely Invoice, we’re going to completely take a tougher look and are taking a tougher have a look at capital spending,” Hunter informed analysts and buyers on a convention name discussing Acadia’s second-quarter outcomes. “We now have the chance to take a pause on a few of our growth capital spending.”
Hunter and outgoing CFO Heather Dixon mentioned they have already got hit the pause button on two tasks in Acadia’s pipeline, a transfer that can save the corporate about $100 million over the subsequent few years. Dixon famous a small a part of these financial savings will begin to be realized later this yr, when Acadia groups would have been engaged on parts resembling planning and design.
Hunter famous that different spending pauses and/or cuts are doubtless due to uncertainty round funding that components of the OBBBA have created.
“We’re nonetheless going by way of the method and we anticipate to have extra to say over the subsequent few months,” Hunter mentioned.
Hunter commented on longer-term spending plans after Acadia, which serves greater than 82,000 sufferers every day, reported Q2 web earnings of $37.9 million on revenues of $869 million. A yr in the past, these numbers had been $81 million and $796 million, respectively, however this yr’s earnings was dinged by greater than $53 million in settlement prices and authorized charges associated to governmental investigations and lawsuits in addition to about $10 million in spending on layoffs, facility closures and contract modifications.
Shares of Acadia (Ticker: ACHC) tumbled greater than 15% after executives’ earnings report and convention name. They rose about 1% on Aug. 7 to shut at $18.20 however are nonetheless down greater than 50% over the previous six months. The corporate’s market capitalization is now about $1.7 billion.
