Earnings Are Off Slightly for Quantum Health

ORANGE — Quantum Health Resources Inc. posted slightly lower first-quarter earnings on Wednesday, saying that its performance was dimmed by expenses that resulted from a merger.

For the quarter, earnings fell to $3.2 million, or 21 cents a share, from $3.3 million, or 22 cents a share, for the same period a year earlier. Revenue, however, rose 47% to $42.3 million from $28.8 million.

Last year Quantum merged with a Texas competitor, I.V. Clinics Inc., in a stock swap valued at $33 million.

Taking into account the cost of the merger, Quantum said, its latest earnings would have been 7 cents a share higher than those a year earlier.

“They did actually do well,” said Paul Brown, a health-care analyst with Volpe, Welty & Co. in San Francisco. “On an operating basis, they performed above my expectations.”

The analyst had predicted revenue of $39.5 million for the quarter, he said, less than the $42.3 million the company actually posted.

Quantum provides services, primarily intravenous infusions, to chronically ill patients in their homes.

In Wednesday’s trading on the NASDAQ market, Quantum’s stock fell $1 a share in heavy trading to close at $21.50. Brown said the dip was related to speculation about changes in government health care payments.