Oct 24 (Reuters) - Hospital operator Universal Health

Services ( UHS ) reported on Thursday its third-quarter profit

in line with Wall Street estimates, hurt by increased expenses,

such as salaries and wages for its staff.

Shares of the company fell nearly 8% to $207 after the

bell.

Expenses on salaries, wages and benefits rose 7% to $1.9

billion for the third quarter and overall operating charges rose

9.2% to $3.6 billion.

Quarterly same facility adjusted admissions increased by

1.5% at its acute care hospitals, while same facility adjusted

admissions were up 2.2% at the behavioral health care

facilities, as more patients sought medical care that required

hospital stay.

Hospital operators have been benefiting from an uptick in

demand for medical care, as older adults are catching up on

surgeries delayed during the pandemic.

The King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based company posted an

adjusted profit of $3.71 per share for the quarter ended Sept.

30, compared with analysts' estimates of $3.70 per share,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

Universal Health had previously forecast 2024 profit in

the range of $15.40 to $16.20 per share and revenues of $15.57

billion to $15.75 billion.