Q1 2004 Per-Se Technologies Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Original Source: FD (FAIR DISCLOSURE) WIRE

OPERATOR: Welcome and thank you for standing by. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. After the presentation, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. (Operator Instructions). Today's conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. Now I'll turn the meeting over to Mr. Phil Pead. You may begin.

PHILIP PEAD, CHAIRMAN, PRESIDENT, CEO, PER-SE TECHNOLOGIES: Thank you, Anna. Good afternoon and thanks for joining us on this call to discuss our first quarter 2004 earnings. I have with me today Chris Perkins, our Chief Financial Officer.

Before we begin, I would like to read the following Safe Harbor statement. Please be aware that certain statements made in this call will be forward-looking in nature within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements will include expectations with respect to future results and the assumptions on which such expectations are based. As with all things, actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements is found in our press release issued this morning and in our SEC filings, including the Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31st, 2004 and the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31st, 2003.

Also, in accordance with Reg G, please refer to our press release issued this afternoon for a discussion and reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures discussed in this call to their most directly comparable GAAP financial measure.

During the first quarter, we increased our income from continuing operations, excluding the cost associated with the additional procedures by more than 65 percent as compared to the first quarter of 2003. We achieved strong levels of new business sold in both our divisions, as well as our targeted client retention levels. In our release this afternoon, we reiterated our 2004 guidance of 7 to 9 percent, consolidated revenue growth and fully diluted earnings per share of 85 cents to 95 cents, an increase of 31 to 46 percent over our 2003 performance. We also increased our cash flow from operations guidance to $48 to $51 million as a result of our settlement of the Lloyd's of London litigation.

During our first quarter operational update call on April 19th, we provided you with details on the nonfinancial metrics of our operations. I will not repeat all of this information this afternoon, but I would like to comment on our Physician Services revenue growth and spend a few minutes talking about HIPAA. Chris will then provide you with more detail financial information later in the call.

In our Physician Services division, as we discussed in our first quarter operational update call on April 19th, we achieved record net new business sold of approximately $12 million. Achieving this significant level of net new business sold early in the year will have a positive impact on revenue growth in 2004. New business sold in the first half of the year has a greater impact in revenue growth in the current year than new business sold in the second half.

Client retention, which is another key driver of our revenue growth, …