Caremark Posts Record Earnings in 2nd Quarter

Bolstered by the nationwide cost-cutting drive in the health care industry, Caremark Inc. on Monday said it posted record earnings and revenues during its fiscal 1986 second quarter and first half.

The Newport Beach-based provider of in-home therapy and drug services said net earnings for the quarter ended Dec. 31 increased 44% to $2.5 million from $1.7 million in the year-ago period. Revenues for the second quarter were $29.6 million, an increase of 77% from $16.7 million.

For the first six months of the fiscal year, Caremark’s net earnings were $4.5 million, up 41% from $3.2 million in the previous year and six-month revenues of $54 million were up 71% from $31.6 million.

Because it provides care at home--usually at a much lower cost than hospital treatment--Caremark is one of the few health care firms which has continued to do well in an increasingly difficult industry suffering from too many hospitals, too few patients and limits on Medicare spending.

As a result of the drive to reduce costs, increasing numbers of patients are being referred to Caremark and similar companies by hospitals and insurance companies, a situation that Larry Watts, a Caremark spokesman, said contributed heavily to the company’s improved performance. An additional factor, Watts said, is that Caremark has been continually expanding the types of in-home therapy and medication programs it offers, increasing the number and variety of patients it can service.