Cross Country Healthcare Inc. (NASDAQ: CCRN) fourth-quarter revenue was flat year over year but up 11% sequentially. Gross margin improved at the Boca Raton, Florida-based healthcare staffing firm.

“Our performance in the fourth quarter once again demonstrates our ability to deliver the critical staff and support needed by our clients,” Cross Country co-founder and CEO Kevin Clark said. “We continue to see significantly higher demand from Covid, driving increases in both the number of clinicians on assignments as well as higher bill rates for the first quarter of 2021.”

Nurse and allied staffing rose 2.6% year over year and was up 12% on a sequential basis from the third quarter, and average number of field contract personnel on a full-time basis was 5,798 compared with 7,339 in the prior year. Revenue per full-time equivalent was $368 per day in the fourth quarter compared to $284 in the prior-year period.

Revenue by segment

Cross Country noted that full-year results for 2020 included a noncash impairment charge of $16.2 million. Of that, $10.7 million was primarily related to goodwill and customer relationships for its search business and $5.5 million was related to right-of-use assets and related property and equipment from leases that were vacated during the year. Full-year 2020 results also included a $6.1 million restructuring charge.

Full-year results

Guidance

Cross Country forecast first-quarter revenue of between $280 million and $295 million, a year-over-year increase of between 33% and 40%.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Cross Country were up 10.59% to $11.13 as of 12:26 p.m. Eastern time; they were 17.10% below their 52-week high, according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of $377.9 million.