Community Health Systems Inc., the Tennessee-based hospital operator that owns Rockwood Health System here, has reported a $79 million third-quarter net loss, compared with net income of $52 million for the same period last year.

Investor confidence in the company plummeted late last week after it previewed third-quarter losses, reporting a loss from continuing operations before income taxes of $83 million, compared with $121 million  gain in the 2015 third quarter. 

Following that announcement, CHS’ stock closed at $5.23 per share October 26, down 48 percent from its closing price the day before.

In its latest earnings report, company CEO Wayne T. Smith says the company’s operating and financial performance in the third quarter was “below expectations due to lower-than-expected volumes and higher-than-expected expenses in certain areas.” 

The company said hospital admissions fell 12.4 percent for the third quarter.

CHS reported a decrease in revenue during the third quarter to $4.4 billion, from $4.8 billion in the year-earlier period. Company earnings before interest, depreciation, and amortization fell to $465 million, down 30 percent from the prior-year quarter’s $661 million. 

Net cash from operating activities increased to $178 million in the latest quarter, up 60 percent from $111 million in the year-earlier period.

Still struggling with $15 billion of debt, CHS is continuing to explore hospital divestitures, including the possible sale of the entire company.

Modern Healthcare, a print and online provider of health care business news, research, and data, reported that private equity group Apollo Capital Partners is interested in some or all of CHS. 

The group entered the hospital business last year by purchasing RegionalCare Hospital Partners, which grew to 18 hospitals through a merger this year with Capella Healthcare to create RCCH HealthCare Partners.

Four hospitals that CHS is selling include three in Mississippi and one in Florida. The company says it hopes to complete the sale of the hospitals to not-for-profit Curae Health, of Clinton, Tenn., by the fourth quarter, and to use the proceeds to reduce debt. 

All four hospitals were acquired in 2014 as part of the company’s $7.6 billion acquisition of Health Management Associates. CHS has since struggled to integrate those HMA hospitals into its system.  

The hospital chain also announced it has four additional buyers for eight other hospitals it has for sale, although those transactions are still being worked out.

As the Journal reported earlier, CHS is coming off a loss from continuing operations in the second quarter of $1.43 billion, or $12.90 per share, after taking a noncash write-down of goodwill on the sinking value of hospitals it bought over the years.