David George-Cosh

Reporter

Follow|Archive

Shares of Canadian digital health service provider Well Health Technologies Corp. soared Thursday after the company released preliminary fourth-quarter results and said it’s planning to revisit a share buy-back program. The stock closed more than 10 per cent higher at $4.23 per share.

The Vancouver-based company said in a business update that when it reports its fourth-quarter results, its revenue on an annualized basis will exceed $450 million, while its annualized operating adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) will approach $100 million. 

That revenue figure is ahead of previously-released forecasts that stated its sales would "approach" $450 million on an annualized basis, the company said. 

Well Health’s growth has been driven by a surge in omnichannel patient visits in the fourth quarter, which more than doubled to 692,913 in that three-month period. Its MyHealth business line also reported 146,116 diagnostic visits in the fourth quarter, while its recently acquired women's virtual care offering Wisp completed 126,265 asynchronous patient consultations. 

"With our strong balance sheet and positive cash generation profile, Well is favourably positioned to continue to grow both organically and inorganically," said Hamed Shahbazi, chairman and chief executive officer of Well Health, in a statement. "We believe revenue, adjusted EBITDA and cashflow are key metrics to watch as we expected them to continue to rise on a per share basis."

The company is also planning to re-activate its share buy-back program through a normal course issuer bid it first announced in April 2021 after its board determined its share price does not properly reflect the value of its business. Well Health said at the time it planned to purchase as much as 2.5 per cent of the company's outstanding stock over a 12-month period. 

Well Health’s website hasn't yet specified when it plans to report its fourth-quarter results.