NightHawk Radiology Holdings Inc., of Coeur dAlene, has reported third-quarter revenue of $45.2 millionup 79 percent from $25.2 million in the year-earlier period. The publicly traded company attributes the large increase partly to recent acquisitions and new services.


In July, the company, which provides radiology services to physicians and hospitals throughout the U.S., acquired Midwest Physician Services LLC, the business-services arm of St. Paul Radiology, of St. Paul, Minn.


As a result of that acquisition, the company expanded its services and now provides what it claims is the broadest suite of integrated radiology services available, including professional services, clinical work flow technology, and business services, such as revenue cycle management, facilities and human resources management, and transcription.


NightHawk also acquired Teleradiology Diagnostic Service Inc., a California-based provider of off-hour teleradiology services, earlier this year.


Scan volumes in the third quarter grew 70 percent to a record high of nearly 788,000 scans, NightHawk says. New service offerings, primarily daytime final reads and business services, represented 18 percent of total revenue for the quarter and 12 percent of year-to-date revenue.


For us, the growth means continued strong demand for the kinds of high-quality services we can provide to radiology group customers, says Tim Mayleben, the companys president and COO.


NightHawks revenue growth will allow it to continue investing in new technologies, Mayleben says. Also, the company has the management team and capacity in terms of cash and available borrowings to pursue more acquisitions in the future, he says.


When opportunities become available to us on the financial terms we find attractive, we will certainly look to continue to grow through acquisition, Mayleben says.


Although acquisitions boosted NightHawks revenues significantly, the companys organic revenues grew 24 percent in the third quarter, and its organic scan volume rose 28 percent.


Organic revenue and scan volumes refer to growth in those numbers that occurs internally without benefit of acquisitions.


NightHawks GAAP net income for the quarter was $3.8 million, or 12 cents a diluted share, down from $5.6 million, or 18 cents a diluted share, in the year-earlier quarter. (GAAP refers to generally accepted accounting principles.)


The company attributed the lower net income to higher expenses related to its acquisitions where integration is not yet complete; interest expenses on acquisition-related debt financing; additional investments to support future growth; and higher non-cash charges for stock compensation, incurred but not reported medical liability reserves, and amortization of intangibles.


NightHawk has revised its full-year 2007 guidance for revenue and adjusted earnings per diluted share to between $152 million and $155 million, or 94 cents to 96 cents a share, from between $155 million and $162 million, or 94 cents to 98 cents a share. The company kept its 2008 guidance for revenue of between $215 million and $225 million.


By any stretch its still very good were getting so much revenue from new services, but we didnt see the uptake as early in the year as we thought we would, Mayleben says of the slightly lower guidance for 2007. That doesnt impact our long-term view of opportunities for those services.


NightHawk employs about 470 people and 116 affiliated radiologists, Mayleben says.


In addition to its headquarters in Coeur dAlene, the company operates an information technology office in Milwaukee, and reading centers in Zurich, Switzerland, and Sydney, Australia, as well as a reading center in San Francisco and a 3-D laboratory in Austin, Texas, both of which it opened this year.


Contact Emily Proffitt at (509) 344-1265 or via e-mail at emilyp@spokanejournal.com.