UPDATE 2-Community Health profit falls, blames flu season
* Earned $58.9 mln in 1st quarter vs. $60.1 mln yr ago
* Says weaker flu season crimped admissions
* Revenues match Wall Street forecast
* Shares flat in extended trading (Adds company full-year profit, revenue forecasts)
NEW YORK, April 23 (Reuters) - U.S. hospital operator Community Health Systems Inc (CYH.N) said its first quarter earnings fell slightly, in part because fewer cases of the flu this year led to a drop in patient admissions.
The company said on Thursday it earned $58.9 million, or 65 cents per share, compared with $60.1 million, or 63 cents per share, in the year-earlier period.
Income from continuing operations rose to $71.1 million, or 63 cents per share. That compared with $59.1 million, or 52 cents per share, in the year-earlier period, when the company had 4.1 million additional common shares outstanding.
Analysts on average expected 60 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.
Revenue rose 7.6 percent to $2.89 billion, matching the Reuters Estimates forecast.
Shares of Community Health, the largest publicly traded hospital company in the United States, were flat in after-hours trade. They had closed down 1.9 percent at $17.77 in regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Community Health, based in Franklin, Tennessee, reaffirmed it expected full-year 2009 income from continuing operations of $2.45 to $2.65 per share and still expects full-year operating revenue of $11.65 billion to $11.95 billion. (Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Tim Dobbyn, Leslie Gevirtz)
