Urgent Care Center

With six times the number of health care centers now than it had one year ago, Urgent Care Center of America Inc. on Monday reported a sharply reduced third-quarter loss from the same period last year. At the same time, revenues jumped more than 17-fold in the latest quarter.

The Irvine-based operator of drop-in medical centers reported a net loss of $153,700 for the third quarter ended Nov. 30, compared to losses of $476,500 for the comparable year-ago quarter.

But Urgent Care’s health care centers numbered 26 in the third quarter, compared to four during the year-ago period. The resulting jump in revenues to $2.77 million from $155,500, was the main factor behind the narrowing of the loss.

“We were so small at this time last year that it’s really hard to draw a comparison,” said James A. Ripp, senior vice president. But Ripp projected that the company would “virtually break even” for the 1985 fiscal year that ends Feb. 28, compared to 1984 fiscal losses of $1.78 million.

And Ripp promised that, “We plan to continue with an aggressive expansion program in 1985.”

Particularly affecting the third-quarter outcome was the October openings of two new centers in the Sacramento area. “These centers always lose money for the first few months,” said Ripp.