Healthcare software company Phreesia reported strong fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 financial results, but 2020 revenue will likely take a hit from the impact of COVID-19.
Phreesia co-founder and CEO Chaim Indig said during an earnings call Thursday that outpatient visits to its provider clients plummeted nearly 60% in mid-March, and that will directly impact the company's first-quarter 2020 revenue,
Phreesia provides patient intake software, and the company went public in July 2019.
An analysis of the company's ambulatory data indicated a marked increase in telehealth visits, although not enough to offset the decline in in-person visits.
Phreesia executives said they cannot predict the extent to which COVID-19 will negatively impact the company's business, as the situation remains in flux. The company's fiscal 2021 first quarter ends April 30.
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"Once restrictions are loosened and are removed, we don’t know what the pace of recovery will be," Indig said, noting that the company is not providing guidance for its current 2021 fiscal year.
Indig said the company was positioned for "near-term uncertainty" and long-term growth.
"Our priorities are focused on maintaining a solid liquidity position and we are comfortable navigating the current environment with our current balance sheet. We are also focused on maintaining our critical value to clients."
Indig outlined how the company has shifted its focus to support providers' transition to virtual care in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February, the company rolled out a COVID-19 screening module that triages patients' COVID-19 risk factors to avoid putting office staff at risk of infection. That screening tool has been used to screen 2.5 million patients, he said.
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As many physicians have transitioned to virtual care, the company rolled out a telehealth intake tool in March that enables patients to preregister for telehealth visits and collects payment information. That tool, which patients access via text or email, provides education about the visit, specific instructions and a link to enter a "virtual" waiting room, Indig sad.
Phreesia also launched a "zero contact" intake tool that enables patients to check in for in-person office visits from their homes or cars.
"We are preparing for a future that is less reliant on the physical waiting room," he said.
Q4 and full-year financial performance
During the earnings call, the company reported fourth-quarter 2020 revenue grew 24% to $32.8 million, compared to $26.5 million in the same period in the prior year.
Revenue for the quarter beat Wall Street expectations. Seven analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research expected $30.4 million.
Provider revenue grew 22% to $26.8 million compared to the fourth quarter last year.
The company reported a loss of $3.7 million in its fiscal fourth quarter. Earnings per share for the quarter came to a loss of 10 cents per share.
That also exceeded Street forecasts. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks was for a loss of 11 cents per share.
For the full year ended Jan. 31, 2020, the company's revenue grew 25% to $124.8 million compared to $99.9 million in fiscal 2019.
Provider revenue came to $102.9 million, up 27% year over year. The average number of provider clients grew 5% to 1,571 in fiscal 2020 as compared to 1,490 in the prior year. Also contributing to the growth in provider revenue, the average revenue per provider-client grew 21% to $65,486 in fiscal 2020 as compared to $54,231 in fiscal 2019.
Adjusted EBITDA was $4.8 million in fiscal 2020 as compared to $3.5 million in fiscal 2019.
The company still had sizable losses, reporting a loss of $20.3 million, or $4.50 per share. That grew from a loss of $15 million the year prior.
For the first time, the company achieved positive cash flow from operations for the full fiscal year, Chief Financial Officer Tom Altier said.
Phreesia ended the year with just over $90 million in cash on the balance sheet, up $88.8 million from Jan. 31, 2019.