OTHER NEWS - April 17, 1995

HealthTrust Profit Up 29.5%: The Nashville, Tenn., hospital operator, which is being acquired by Columbia-HCA Healthcare Corp., said its fiscal second-quarter earnings rose on the strength of its acquisition of Epic Holdings Inc. For the three months ended Feb. 28, HealthTrust Inc. earned $61.4 million, or 66 cents a share, up from $47.4 million, or 56 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue jumped 56%, to $1.02 billion from $652.5 million, due primarily to added revenue from Epic Holdings. HealthTrust acquired the Dallas-based hospital chain for $1 billion last May. HealthTrust has agreed to be acquired by Columbia-HCA, the nation’s largest hospital chain, for $5.4 billion. The deal, approved by both companies’ shareholders, requires Federal Trade Commission approval.