NovaMed to Close or Sell 3 Centers

NovaMed decided to close or sell the Texas and Georgia surgery centers due to their continued unprofitability. The Louisiana center is being closed or sold because its only surgeon is planning to retire shortly, and there is no viable successor for the surgeon in this rural area with limited growth potential.

The company said the three centers together represented about 2 percent of NovaMeds total net revenue and a loss of a little more than a penny per share for the nine months ended Sept. 30.

NovaMed owns 96 percent of the Texas facility, 70 percent of the Louisiana center and 71.5 percent of the Georgia facility. The company will seek potential buyers for its stakes in these centers, and if unable to sell its interests in any or all of the facilities, then NovaMed will work with its remaining partners to cease operations and liquidate its assets.

NovaMed also owns a 25 percent stake in an ambulatory surgery center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and is exercising its right to sell this interest to its physician-partner who owns the remaining 75 percent. The company said this sale has dragged on for longer than expected and the company is now uncertain of its potential return.

Therefore, NovaMed will record a loss from continuing operations of up to about $1 million in the fourth quarter of 2007. This center generated a loss to NovaMed of $35,000 for the nine months ended Sept. 30.