Not as bad as it seems?

Our HME Newspoll for the December issue takes a look at your net revenues for 2012—will they meet your expectations, will they be up or down for the year, how will they compare to last year?

We selected this topic for two reasons: 1.) With so few public companies in the HME industry, we thought this would be a god way to get a feel for the financial health of the industry; and 2.) it's the end of year, so we thought it would be a good time to look back at 2012 and look forward at 2013.

So far, 59 providers have taken the poll, which is disappointing to say the least. (We grimace at any response below 100.)

But I hope more providers take the poll in the next two days (we kick the December issue out the door end of day on Tuesday), because what we are seeing so far is pretty interesting.

Here's a peak at the results as of Monday morning:

Will your total net revenues for 2012 meet expectations?
Yes - 41%
No - 59%

How did your company perform this year compared to 2011?
Increased revenues - 37%
Decreased revenues - 43%
Stayed about the same - 20%

If revenues increased, by how much?
0-5% - 66%
6-10% - 20%
More than 10% - 14%

If revenues decreased, by how much?
0-5% - 68%
6-10% - 12%
More than 10% - 20%

What are your expectations for 2013?
Increased revenues - 37%
Decreased revenues - 37%
Stay about the same - 26%

I'm not going to deny that the fact that nearly 60% of respondents reporting that their net revenues for 2012 won't meet expectations is pretty ugly, but 57% of respondents reported that their net revenues will increase or stay the same this year compared to last year. That's a majority, albeit a slight one.

Also, for those providers who reported that they're net revenues will decrease in 2012, 68% reported that they will decrease by only 0-5%.

Finally, 63% of respondents reported that they expect revenues to increase or stay the same in 2013. That's an even healthier majority. And that's in a year that the industry expects CMS to roll out Round 2 of competitive bidding in 91 cities.

With the U.S. economy, in general, having a tough year, I'd say the industry's not doing all that bad.

Your thoughts? Chime in here.