Case Study · Sell-Side Quality of Earnings

Turning a $21.8M Reported EBITDA Into a Defensible $30.2M Run-Rate Story

Project Mesa: a sell-side Quality of Earnings for a multi-site outpatient healthcare platform — six clinics across four states — preparing to go to market. Every adjustment traced, every diligence question anticipated before a buyer ever asked it.

$148.5M
TTM Net Revenue

+7.6% vs. FY2024, across six clinics and six revenue lines with no single site or line dominating the mix.

$28.0M
Adjusted EBITDA — 18.9% Margin

Up from a reported $21.8m, with every adjustment sourced, sampled, and segregated by who identified it.

$6.2M
EBITDA Adjustments Identified

$6.1m management add-backs, $0.1m net diligence-identified — the difference between a story and a bridge.

01 — The Engagement

A Multi-Site Outpatient Platform, Preparing to Go to Market

Six clinics, six revenue lines, and a diversified payor base — the kind of platform a buyer will want to underwrite on more than a single consolidated number. MatrixMindz was engaged to build the sell-side QoE the deal team would stand behind at the negotiating table.

Sector
Multi-site outpatient healthcare services
Sites
6 clinics across AZ · NV · NM · CO
Revenue Lines
Primary/specialty care, imaging, lab, ASC, pharmacy/retail, MSO fees
Payor Mix
Commercial 47% · Medicare 27% · Medicaid 12% · Other 14%
Periods Reviewed
FY2023 · FY2024 · TTM 3/31/2025
Engagement
Sell-side (vendor) financial due diligence
02 — Quality of Earnings

Reported-to-Adjusted EBITDA Bridge — TTM 3/31/2025

Every dollar of the $6.2m gap between reported and adjusted EBITDA is segregated by who identified it — and by how it was tested. That distinction is what a buyer's advisor checks first.

$21.8m +2.4 +1.1 +0.9 +1.3 +0.4 (0.6) +1.6 (0.4) (0.5) $28.0m Reported Owner comp Legal/malprac. Mgmt fees Prof & ERP Personal exp. Rent to mkt De-novo ERP recurring Standalone Adjusted Management add-back Diligence run-rate Downward (pro forma)
Owner / officer excess compensation
+$2.4M
Non-recurring legal & malpractice
+$1.1M
Related-party management fees
+$0.9M
Non-recurring professional & ERP
+$1.3M
Owner personal / non-business expense
+$0.4M
Subtotal — Management-Identified
$6.1M
Related-party rent to market
($0.6M)
De-novo (new site) run-rate
+$1.6M
ERP support/licensing recurring
($0.4M)
Standalone / public-co. costs
($0.5M)
 
 
Subtotal — Diligence-Identified
$0.1M

Adjustments are segregated by source; "concurrence" reflects procedures performed (inquiry and analytical review), not assurance. $ in millions.

03 — Beyond the TTM

From $28.0M TTM to a $30.2M Run-Rate Story

Run-rate items are inherently more subjective than historical adjustments — which is exactly why each one carries its own basis and its own buyer-side caveat.

$ in millionsAmount
TTM Adjusted EBITDA
28.0
De-novo site — full ramp to maturity
+1.1
Acquired clinic (Q3-24) — full-year
+0.7
Annualized commercial rate increase
+0.6
Lost capitation contract (Feb-25)
(0.5)
In-process cost reduction
+0.3
Run-rate Adjusted EBITDA
30.2
Run-Rate Adjusted EBITDA
$30.2M

20.3% margin · +7.9% vs. TTM Adjusted EBITDA

Buyer considerations: the de-novo ramp ($1.1m) is the largest item and warrants corroboration against post-period actuals; the terminated capitation contract has been removed from run-rate for a balanced presentation.

04 — Revenue Analysis

Revenue by Service Line — A Mix Shifting Toward Higher-Margin Ancillaries

No single service line exceeds ~42% of TTM net revenue — a diversified base that a buyer can underwrite without leaning on one clinical line.

FY2023 $121.5m FY2024 $138.0m TTM 3/31/25 $148.5m
Primary & specialty care42%
Diagnostic imaging19%
Laboratory services13%
Ambulatory surgery (ASC)16%
Pharmacy & retail6%
Management fees (MSO)4%
Total TTM Net Revenue
$148.5M

TTM mix shown; FY23/FY24 splits are illustrative and directionally consistent with the shift toward higher-margin ancillaries noted below.

05 — Concentration

No Single Site or Payor Carries the Story

Limited site-concentration and a favorable payor shift toward commercial — two of the questions a buyer's advisor asks first.

Revenue by Location
Site A — AZ
$42.0M
Site B — AZ
$31.5M
Site C — AZ
$24.0M
Site D — NV
$21.0M
Site E — NM
$18.0M
Site F — CO
$12.0M

Largest site (A) is ~28% of revenue; top-3 sites are ~65%. Site F (de-novo) is up 100%+ since FY23.

Revenue by Payor Mix — TTM
47%
Commercial
Commercial47%
Medicare27%
Medicaid12%
Self-pay6%
Capitation/VBC5%
Other3%

Commercial mix up ~3 points since FY2023 (44% → 47%) — supportive of rate quality and revenue durability.

06 — Margin & Growth Quality

Where the Profit Sits, and What's Actually Driving Growth

A blended contribution margin of ~43% of net revenue, with growth that's volume-led and supported by favorable rate and mix — not masked by acquisition.

Contribution Margin by Service Line
Mgmt fees (MSO)
70%
Diagnostic imaging
52%
ASC
48%
Laboratory
45%
Primary & specialty
38%
Pharmacy & retail
22%

Diagnostic imaging and the ASC are the highest-margin clinical lines and a growing share of the mix.

Revenue Growth — Rate / Volume / Mix
FY23 → FY24 (+$16.5M)
FY24 → TTM (+$10.5M)
Volume
Rate
Payor mix
Service mix
New site/M&A
Lost/attrition

Organic growth predominates over inorganic; the capitation exit and ordinary churn offset ~$3m/year, consistent with a balanced bridge.

07 — Quality of Revenue

Gross-to-Net, and Where Denials Are Trending

Net revenue realization holding at ~46.7% of gross charges, with a denial trend that appears to be improving through the period.

Gross patient charges
$318.2M
Contractual adjustments
($156.1M)
Denials — net write-offs
($9.8M)
Bad debt
($2.4M)
Charity / sliding-scale
($1.4M)
Net Patient Revenue
46.7% of gross charges
$148.5M
9.6%
Initial Denial Rate (TTM)

Elevated vs. a ~5–9% benchmark and drifting up over the period — flagged for further reserve-adequacy review.

67.9%
Appeal Overturn Rate

Recovered on appeal — roughly half of denials are front-end (prior-auth/eligibility) and addressable through process fixes.

08 — Financial Summary

Three Years of Reported Performance

Revenue up ~12% CAGR, gross margin stable near 48%, and reported EBITDA up 42% from FY2023 to TTM — before a single QoE adjustment.

$ in millionsFY2023FY2024TTM 3/31/25
Net revenue
121.5138.0148.5
Gross profit
57.066.771.3
Gross margin %
46.9%48.3%48.0%
Reported EBITDA
15.419.221.8
EBITDA margin %
12.7%13.9%14.7%
Operating income (EBIT)
9.813.215.4
Net income
4.26.58.0
~12%
Revenue CAGR, FY23→TTM
~48%
Gross Margin — Stable
+42%
Reported EBITDA Growth
09 — Cash, Working Capital & Net Debt

Proof of Cash, a Proposed NWC Peg, and an Illustrative Equity Bridge

Our proof-of-cash procedures reconciled recorded revenue to bank deposits within ~0.3% of revenue. The proposed peg reflects a 12-month average, not a period-end snapshot.

Adjusted EBITDA (TTM)
$28.0M
Illustrative multiple
12.0x
Enterprise value
$336.0M
Less: net debt
($54.3M)
Illustrative Equity Value
Cash-free, debt-free basis at the proposed NWC peg — arithmetic illustration, not a valuation opinion
$281.7M
$12.2M
Proposed NWC Peg

TTM 12-month average.

~59 days
DSO

vs. ~56 days FY2023.

$52.0M
Funded Debt
$9.1M
Debt-Like Items

Earnout, deferred comp, malpractice IBNR, deal costs.

10 — Key Diligence Considerations

What We Flagged for the Deal Team Before a Buyer Could

A QoE that only bridges to a number isn't finished. The value is in surfacing what a buyer's advisor will ask next — before they ask it.

Earnings Quality

Adjusted EBITDA of ~$28.0m (18.9%) is supported by the procedures performed; we recommended further analysis of the de-novo run-rate adjustment and the owner-compensation normalization.

Revenue Durability

Diversified across six service lines and six locations with a favorable commercial-payor shift; we recommended review of contract renewal and reimbursement exposure.

Cash & Working Capital

Proof-of-cash reconciled to bank activity; we recommended focus on receivables aging (DSO ~59 days) and the proposed ~$12.2m net working capital peg.

Net Debt

~$54.3m including ~$9.1m characterized as debt-like (earnout, deferred comp, IBNR, deal costs) — several classifications customarily subject to negotiation.

11 — The Takeaway

A Bridge a Buyer's Advisor Can Follow Is Worth More Than a Bigger Number

Every adjustment in this QoE is sourced, sampled, and segregated by who identified it and how it was tested — management add-back or diligence-identified, historical or run-rate. That structure is what lets a $21.8m reported number become a defensible $28.0m adjusted figure, and a credible $30.2m run-rate story, without losing credibility at the negotiating table.

Deal-grade rigor, built to withstand the other side's diligence — not just to produce a number for the teaser.

Preparing to go to market?

Build a QoE That Survives the Other Side's Diligence

If you're preparing a sell-side process and need a Quality of Earnings that a buyer's advisor will find credible — not just favorable — we'd welcome a conversation.