Cerner reports higher profits, revenues and bookings of new business in first quarter

Earnings climbed 15.2 percent in the first quarter at Cerner Corp., which said it also generated a 7 percent increase in bookings of new business.

Based in North Kansas City, Cerner earned $173.2 million, or 52 cents a share, in January, February and March. A year earlier it had earned $150.4 million, or 43 cents a share, in the quarter.

The higher profits came on an 11 percent increase in revenues, which reached $1.26 billion in the quarter. Revenues had been $1.14 billion a year earlier.

Bookings of new business, which provides a source of future revenues and profits for the health care technology company, totaled $1.25 billion compared with $1.17 billion a year ago.

Cerner said its gains reflected an uptick in its ability to win contracts with new clients, including taking clients away from its competitors.

One business that was slow last year remains that way. Cerner’s ITWorks outsourcing service did not sign any new contracts in the first quarter and likely will be slow in the second quarter.

The company still expects to close enough deals this year to perhaps hit a record in bookings for ITWorks. Partly, this is because some of the contracts would be larger than the $20 million average revenue earned from existing ITWorks clients.

“You have some that could be five times that size,” Marc Naughton, Cerner’s chief financial officer said during a conference call with analysts.

Cerner also offered its expectations for results in the second quarter, which ends June 30. Revenues should total between $1.265 billion and $1.335 billion, and bookings between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion, the company said.

This story was originally published April 27, 2017 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Cerner reports higher profits, revenues and bookings of new business in first quarter."