AMI Manages Turnaround for 9 Months : Posts Sharp Increase in 3rd-Quarter Profit

Beverly Hills-based American Medical International, a major health-services provider, Thursday posted a sharp increase in profits for the third quarter and a turnaround for the nine months, primarily because of the absence of big writeoffs taken last year.

The company, which has rejected a hostile $1.91-billion takeover bid by Chicago physician Dr. LeRoy Pesch, has weathered industrywide hard times and has bright earnings prospects, AMI President and Chief Executive Walter Weisman said.

For the three months ended May 31, the company earned $31.6 million, a 47% increase over the year-earlier period. Revenue for the period rose to $1 billion, up about $93 million from the 1986 quarter.

For the nine months, the health-care concern earned $88.2 million, compared to a year ago when it lost $32 million. Revenue rose to $2.88 billion from $2.57 billion.

The 1986 figures include $114.6 million in writedowns on assets and the addition of $60 million to its reserves for uncollected medical bills and malpractice insurance, as well as an $8.1-million gain from the sale of some medical facilities.

AMI’s board rejected Pesch’s sweetened $22-per-share offer for the company two months ago, and Pesch has remained silent since.