Beverly Faces $52 Million Loss

Fort Smith’s Beverly Enterprises Inc., a national nursing home chain, announced May 8 that special charges had pushed its first-quarter losses to $52 million.

The company reported $107.7 million in special charges against earnings; most of it ($86 million) related to the company’s plan to sell all its facilities in Florida. Other charges were made for work force reductions, reorganization costs and other unusual items.

The company had operating income of 8 cents per share before the special charges, about which investors had been previously warned. After the charges, the result was a net loss of 50 cents per share. That compares with net income of $6.26 million, or 6 cents per share, in the same period last year.

Beverly stock was trading above $9 a share the day of the announcement, up from a close of $8.56 on Monday. As late as May 24 it was approaching $9.50 per share.