LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif., Dec. 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- OptimumCare Corporation (OTCBB:OPMC) today announced that the company has been featured in a newly published outlook for 2004 by Barrow Street Research, Inc. The outlook is available in its entirety on the research firm's web site at www.barrowstreet.com.
Barrow Street Research, Inc. is one of the nation's first online independent research firms, and will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2004. It was created in an attempt to fill a niche in the investment research market, specifically recognizing that many small and micro cap companies with promising futures nevertheless found it virtually impossible to obtain coverage from most Wall Street research departments.
"Our first new recommendation for 2004 is OptimumCare Corporation," said the research firm. "We first initiated coverage of the company in 1997. Since then, it has undergone significant changes and, in our opinion, now is poised to embark on a period of sustained growth in both sales and earnings.
"Today," the report notes, "OPMC provides a wide range of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health services through affiliated hospitals and medical centers. In addition, the company has a growing presence in the temporary health care staffing business, so much so that it now represents more than half its current revenues. Indeed, in just the past year, the company has consolidated operations so effectively that it has cut operating cost by 50%, is on the verge of returning to profitability in early 2004, has a solid balance sheet with a strong cash position and zero debt, and has more than a dozen potential acquisition targets that it hopes to capture in the year ahead in both operating sectors.
"As our regular readers know, we are very optimistic about the investment opportunities in the healthcare sector, and specifically for those companies that are attempting to provide services in the behavioral health area.
"Accordingly, OPMC fits perfectly into this scenario. In the behavioral health area, OPMC offers a wide-array of services including programs aimed primarily at treating depression and certain other mental health disorders as well as alcohol and drug abuse.
"In the overall healthcare area, OPMC has been aggressively positioning itself in the temporary staffing area. The company's temporary healthcare staffing segment provides temporary skilled nurses, social workers and other professionals to a broad base of medical and healthcare client sites. OPMC's temporary staffing services are staffed with qualified healthcare professionals (primarily marriage and family counselors, highly trained nurses and social workers). Potential employees are carefully screened based on their prior experience. The staffing subsidiary accepts only highly trained candidates, since employees need to be able to respond in various environments, in a very independent and effective manner, and on a 24/7 basis.
"For the nine months ended September 30, 2003 OPMC's revenues rose 16% to $4.5 million...Importantly, the higher revenues reflect the inclusion of sales from the temporary staffing services segment, an area that we believe will show increased growth in the years immediately ahead. Based on our analysis, we believe that OPMC represents a superior opportunity for those high-risk investors wanting to participate in the healthcare sector. Accordingly, we are initiating coverage with a BUY rating, and will be issuing a basic analysis research report on OptimumCare early in January 2004."
Certain of the statements made herein constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including the risks associated with plans, the effects of changing economic and competitive conditions, government regulation which may affect facilities, licensing, healthcare reform which may affect payment amounts and timing, availability of sufficient working capital, program development efforts and timing, and market acceptance of new programs which may affect future sales growth and/or costs of operations. Additional information may be obtained by reviewing the Company's reports filed from time to time with the SEC.