-----BEGIN PRIVACY-ENHANCED MESSAGE----- Proc-Type: 2001,MIC-CLEAR Originator-Name: webmaster@www.sec.gov Originator-Key-Asymmetric: MFgwCgYEVQgBAQICAf8DSgAwRwJAW2sNKK9AVtBzYZmr6aGjlWyK3XmZv3dTINen TWSM7vrzLADbmYQaionwg5sDW3P6oaM5D3tdezXMm7z1T+B+twIDAQAB MIC-Info: RSA-MD5,RSA, U6mhotnaOfj1HQA7H1k4SrjUtWfga0mlXfZkA+3FhcRgW59ExbPhKZYX8SKWGUGG KFgcNa1sl1A1DsJvm82fDA== 0000000000-05-009240.txt : 20060703 0000000000-05-009240.hdr.sgml : 20060703 20050225175235 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000000000-05-009240 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: UPLOAD PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 FILED AS OF DATE: 20050225 FILED FOR: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: LHC Group, Inc CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0001303313 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: SERVICES-HOME HEALTH CARE SERVICES [8082] IRS NUMBER: 710918189 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: UPLOAD BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 420 WEST PINHOOK ROAD STREET 2: SUITE A CITY: LAFAYETTE STATE: LA ZIP: 70503 BUSINESS PHONE: 337-233-1307 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: 420 WEST PINHOOK ROAD STREET 2: SUITE A CITY: LAFAYETTE STATE: LA ZIP: 70503 FORMER COMPANY: FORMER CONFORMED NAME: LHC Group, LLC DATE OF NAME CHANGE: 20040915 PUBLIC REFERENCE ACCESSION NUMBER: 0000950144-05-001444 LETTER 1 filename1.txt Mail Stop 3-9 February 25, 2005 Keith G. Myers President and Chief Executive Officer LHC Group, LLC 420 West Pinhook, Rd. Suite A Lafayette, Louisiana 70503 Re: LHC Group, LLC. Registration Statement on Form S-1 Filed November 24, 2004 File Number 333-120792 Dear Mr. Myers: We have reviewed your filing and have the following comments. Where indicated, we think you should revise your document in response to these comments. If you disagree, we will consider your explanation as to why our comment is inapplicable or a revision is unnecessary. Please be as detailed as necessary in your explanation. In some of our comments, we may ask you to provide us with supplemental information so we may better understand your disclosure. After reviewing this information, we may or may not raise additional comments. Please understand that the purpose of our review process is to assist you in your compliance with the applicable disclosure requirements and to enhance the overall disclosure in your filing. We look forward to working with you in these respects. We welcome any questions you may have about our comments or on any other aspect of our review. Feel free to call us at the telephone numbers listed at the end of this letter. Risk Factors, p. 8 "If we fail to complete the evaluation of our internal control ....," p. 18 1) We note your response to comment 8. Unless you have reason to believe that you may not complete your evaluation on time, this risk factor is not appropriate. If you have reason to believe the evaluation will not be completed, then you should revise your risk factor discussion to indicate that you have reason to believe the evaluation will not be completed in a timely manner. Non-GAAP Financial Measures, page 27 2) We note your response to comment 9. The company asserts that EBITDA is a liquidity measure, as such please directly reconcile it to the most directly comparable GAAP-based liquidity measure, without reconciling EBITDA first to a performance measure. It appears that the company feels that cash flow from operations is the most relevant liquidity measure, reconcile EBITDA directly to cash flow from operations without reconciling to net income. 3) In addition, the discussion provided by the company about the usefulness of this measure is very brief. Please provide a much more detailed discussion of how management uses this measure and what benefit is obtained by its inclusion in the document. 4) In the reconciliation on page 26 we note that the company removes two line items "Impairment loss" and "Non-operating income, including gain on sale of assets." The removal of these line items appears to have the affect of presenting an "adjusted" EBITDA instead of just EBITDA which would only remove depreciation/amortization, interest, and taxes. Please justify for us the appropriateness of removing these additional charges that appear to be recurring in nature. Business, page 46 5) We note your response to comment 14. Please provide a more complete analysis supporting your determination. Your analysis should address revenues derived from each agreement, how many other providers are there that would be capable of providing the same services and level of service at a similar cost, and a description of the effects of any interruptions for each agreement. Your analysis should address your dependence on the joint ventures, cooperative endeavors, license leasing arrangements and management services agreements. Critical Accounting Policies Revenues, pages 46-47 6) Refer to your response to comment 12. We note that the company increased its disclosure here of how these estimates are calculated. Please revise this disclosure to also quantify the impact that adjustments to these estimates have had historically to allow an investor to better understand the materiality of these estimates. Accounts Receivable and Allowances for Uncollectible Accounts, pages 47-48 7) Refer to your response to comment 13. We note that the company addresses some key elements in the way that its payment structure is organized in its response to us. Please revise the disclosure either here or in the Business section to reflect the more detailed information about the company`s billing system and operations provided in this response. Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements General 8) The financial statements are now stale. Please update the audited financial statements to include through the year ended December 31, 2004. 2. Significant Accounting Policies Accounts Receivable and Allowances for Uncollectible Accounts, page F-10 9) Refer to your response to comment 19. It appears that these amounts represent unearned revenue which seems to have different characteristics than amounts owed to a third party. These balances would become payable only in the instance that service was terminated. Please verify this understanding of the way these prepayments function. If this is true, then it appears that the appropriate balance sheet classification would be as unearned revenue. 11. Commitments and Contingencies Contingencies, pages F-25 - F-26 10) Please refer to your responses to comments 22 and 23. It appears that your analysis does not follow the appropriate path through the literature given that this appears to be a financial instrument. Please discuss the applicability of SFAS 150, EITF 00-6, and ASR268 and other related literature to this agreement. It appears that the filing of the registration statement makes it appear that it is probable that this minority interest will become redeemable. As appropriate, please amend your filing in response to these comments. You may wish to provide us with marked copies of the amendment to expedite our review. Please furnish a cover letter with your amendment that keys your responses to our comments and provides any requested supplemental information. Detailed cover letters greatly facilitate our review. Please file your cover letter on EDGAR under the form type label CORRESP. Please understand that we may have additional comments after reviewing your amendment and responses to our comments. We direct your attention to Rules 460 and 461 regarding requesting acceleration of a registration statement. Please allow adequate time after the filing of any amendment for further review before submitting a request for acceleration. Please provide this request at least two business days in advance of the requested effective date. You may contact Tabatha Akins at (202) 824-5547 or James Atkinson, at (202) 942-2826 if you have questions regarding comments on the financial statements and related matters. Please contact Zafar Hasan at (202) 942-7381or me at (202) 942-1840 with any other questions. Sincerely, Jeffrey Riedler Assistant Director cc: Steven Pottle Alston & Bird 1201 West Peachtree Street Atlanta, Georgia 30309-3424 ?? ?? ?? ?? LHC Group, LLC. 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