Nu-Med Expects Pre-Tax Charge in 3rd Quarter

Nu-Med, an Encino-based operator of hospitals and other health-care facilities, said it expects to incur a pre-tax charge of between $16 million and $18 million in its fiscal third quarter ended Jan. 31.

The charge will result from the company’s planned sale of certain assets, although the specific sales have not yet been announced, Nu-Med said. The company’s overall third-quarter financial results also have not yet been released.

Nu-Med also said the charge would be offset somewhat by a pre-tax gain of about $10 million to be recorded in the company’s current fourth quarter ending April 30. The gain stemmed from Nu-Med’s repurchase on the open market of $25.4 million face value of three series of its unsecured bonds.

The bonds are selling for about half their face value, and Nu-Med said it was able to repurchase the $25.4 million face value of the bonds for only $13.8 million. Nu-Med still has about $140 million face value of the bonds outstanding.

Nu-Med said it obtained the $13.8 million from the repayment of a note by Medical Properties, an Encino-based real estate investment trust that Nu-Med set up in 1986.

All of the transactions are part of Nu-Med’s ongoing effort to restructure its balance sheet and reduce the company’s heavy debt. In the six months ended Oct. 31, Nu-Med lost $1.1 million on revenue of $220 million.