Regional Health Properties, Inc., a self-managed healthcare real estate investment company that invests primarily in real estate purposed for senior living and long-term care, reported results for the three and 12 months ended December 31, 2017.

Business Update

• Secured a new refinancing that was used to fund certain professional and general liability claims settlements and repay maturing convertible debt

• Making progress to significantly reduce the number of professional and general liability actions pending against the Company

• Appointed Kenneth W. Taylor as a director of the Company

• Created an Asset Management Group within in the Company to strengthen relationships with the Company's facility operating partners

"During the fourth quarter and subsequent to year end, we took decisive actions to stabilize our business and address legacy, non-operational challenges that continue to occupy too much of management's time," commented Brent Morrison, Regional Health Properties, Inc.'s Interim Chief Executive Officer. "Importantly, we secured new financing that provides refinance 'optionality' and additional liquidity to settle a number of the professional and general liability lawsuits."

Management periodically monitors a number of facility performance metrics, including rent coverages both before and after management fees. In the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company's portfolio rent coverage before management fees was 1.32x (as compared with 1.53x in the fourth quarter of 2016) and rent coverage after management fees was 0.93x (as compared with 1.12x in the fourth quarter of 2016). Occupancy and skilled mix for the Company's portfolio were 80.0% and 26.3% for the fourth quarter of 2017, respectively, compared to 82.6% and 23.1% for the fourth quarter of 2016, respectively.

Morrison continued, "Systematically addressing our cash position, debt maturities and legal liabilities clears the way for management and our operations team to focus on facility improvements that we have identified with our operators. Over the last several months, we have been more actively engaging with our operators, including in-person site visits by our newly created Asset Management Group, to develop actionable improvement plans that we believe will assist our operators with elevating facility-level performance and will increase the rent coverage ratios of our portfolio over time. We are encouraged by the progress we are making on all fronts despite the remaining legal hurdles that must be cleared."  

Summary of Financial Results for the Three and 12 Months Ended December 31, 2017
Total revenues in the fourth quarter of 2017 were $6.4 million, up 6.2% from $6.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2016. Total revenues for the 12 months ended December 31, 2017, decreased by 8.9% to $25.1 million from $27.6 million for the 12 months ended December 31, 2016. The decrease reflects the sale in 2016 of nine skilled nursing facilities located in Arkansas, partially off-set by the acquisition in 2017 of an assisted living and memory care community located in Glencoe, Alabama known as the Meadowood facility. The Company generally recognizes all rental revenues on a straight-line rent accrual basis.

General and administrative costs decreased by $458,000, or 31.8%, to $981,000 for the three months ended December 31, 2017, compared with $1.4 million for the same period in 2016. For the three months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, general and administrative costs include stock-based compensation expense, net of restricted stock and warrant forfeitures. General and administrative costs for the 12 months ended December 31, 2017 decreased by approximately $3.2 million, or 41.8%, to $4.5 million, compared with $7.7 million for the same period in 2016. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, general and administrative costs include $0.3 million and $1.1 million, respectively, of stock-based compensation expense.

Interest expense decreased by $527,000, or 33.5%, to $1.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 compared with $1.6 million for the same period in 2016. Interest expense for the 12 months ended December 31, 2017, decreased by $3.1 million, or 42.7%, to $4.1 million compared with $7.1 million for the same period in 2016. The decrease is mainly due to the sale of the Arkansas facilities in 2016, partially off-set by the Meadowood facility acquisition in 2017.

Income from discontinued operations, net of tax for the fourth quarter of 2017 was $370,000 compared with a loss from discontinued operations, net of tax of $6.9 million for the prior year period. For the full year 2017, the loss from discontinued operations, net of tax, was $1.7 million compared with $13.4 million for the prior year period. Income in the three-month period ended December 31, 2017, was higher compared with the prior year period and the loss in the 12-month period ended December 31, 2017, was lower compared with the prior year period primarily due to a reduction to the Company's accrual on professional and general liability claims.

Net loss attributable to Regional Health Properties, Inc.'s common stockholders in the fourth quarter of 2017 was $1.2 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of $420,000, or $0.02 per basic and diluted share, for the fourth quarter of 2016. For the 12 months ended December 31, 2017, the net loss attributable to Regional Health Properties, Inc.'s common stockholders was $8.6 million, or $0.43 per basic and diluted share, compared with a net loss of $14.8 million, or $0.74 per basic and diluted share, in the prior year period.

Cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2017, totaled $1.8 million compared with $14.0 million at December 31, 2016. Restricted cash and investments at December 31, 2017, totaled $3.5 million compared with $5.5 million at December 31, 2016. Total debt outstanding at December 31, 2017 totaled $73.1 million compared with $80.0 million at December 31, 2016 (net of $2.0 million and $2.2 million of deferred financing costs at December 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively).