DaVita Inc. Reports 4th Quarter and Year End 2002 Results
Contact: LeAnne Zumwalt
Investor Relations
DaVita, Inc.
310-792-2600 ext. 2072
    TORRANCE, Calif., February 13, 2002 --
DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA), today announced results for the quarter and year
ended December 31, 2002.  EBITDA, excluding impairments, prior period Medicare
laboratory receipts and accounts receivable recoveries, was $97 million for
the quarter.  Our fourth quarter EBITDA guidance was $95 million to
$100 million. EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2002 was
$392 million, again excluding cash recoveries and impairments.
    
    Net earnings for the three months ended December 31, 2002 were
$59 million, or $0.81 per share.  Net earnings for the quarter excluding
impairments and lab and accounts receivable recoveries related to prior years'
services, representing a total of $24 million of additional after-tax income,
were $35 million or $0.50 per share.

    Net earnings for the full year ended December 31, 2002 were $157 million,
or $1.96 per share.  Net earnings for the year before the extraordinary loss
of $29 million for early extinguishment of debt, and excluding impairments and
lab and accounts receivable recoveries related to prior years' services
totaling $39 million of additional after-tax income, were $148 million or
$1.85 per share.

    Financial and operating highlights include:
    -- For the 12 months ended December 31, 2002 operating cash flow was $303
       million and free cash flow was $247 million.  Operating cash flow for
       the quarter was $42 million and free cash flow was $25 million.  The
       fourth quarter and full year cash flow numbers exclude lab and accounts
       receivable recoveries related to prior years' services.
    -- Total treatments for the fourth quarter were 1,537,821.  Non-acquired
       same center treatment growth was 2.9%.
    -- Fourth quarter dialysis revenue per treatment (excluding lab,
       management fees and other revenue) was essentially flat from the third
       quarter at $291 and up 2.8% from the fourth quarter of 2001.
    -- DSO for the fourth quarter remained steady at 70 days.
    -- Fourth quarter prior-period recoveries included $42 million associated
       with Medicare lab claims.
    -- As of December 31, 2002, we operated 515 outpatient centers serving
       approximately 45,000 patients.  During the fourth quarter we acquired
       four centers and opened eight de novo centers.  We also closed one
       center, that did not have enough private patients to cover the Medicare
       reimbursement deficit.  Included in this patient and center count are
       approximately 3,400 patients in 30 centers under management.

    Our 2003 EBITDA guidance remains at $380 million to $400 million.
    DaVita will be holding a conference call to discuss its fourth quarter and
year end 2002 results on February 14, 2003, at 1:30 Eastern Standard Time.
The dial in number is 800 399-4406.   A replay of the conference call will be
available on DaVita's official web page, http://www.davita.com, for the following
30 days.
    This release contains forward-looking statements. Factors which could
impact future results include the uncertainties associated with governmental
regulation, general economic and other market conditions, and the risk factors
set forth in the Company's SEC filings, including its Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended September 30, 2002. The forward-looking statements should be
considered in light of these risks and uncertainties.
    These risks include those relating to:
    -- possible reductions in private mix and private and government
       reimbursement rates,
    -- the concentration of profits generated from PPO and private indemnity
       patients and from ancillary services including the administration of
       pharmaceuticals,
    -- changes in pharmaceutical practice patterns or reimbursement policies,
    -- the ongoing review of the Company's Florida laboratory subsidiary by
       its Medicare carrier and the Department of Justice,
    -- the ongoing review by the US Attorney's Office and HHS Office of
       Inspector General in Philadelphia and
    -- the Company's ability to maintain contracts with physician medical
       directors.


                                 DAVITA INC.

                         CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                (dollars in thousands, except per share data)

                                                           December 31,
                                                      2002           2001
                            ASSETS
    Cash and cash equivalents                        $96,475        $36,711
    Accounts receivable, less allowance
     of $48,927 and $52,475                          344,292        333,546
    Inventories                                       34,929         34,901
    Other current assets                              28,667          9,364
    Deferred income taxes                             40,163         60,142
        Total current assets                         544,526        474,664
    Property and equipment, net                      298,475        252,778
    Amortizable intangibles, net                      63,159         73,108
    Investments in third-party dialysis businesses     3,227          4,346
    Other long-term assets                             1,520          2,027
    Goodwill                                         864,786        855,760
                                                  $1,775,693     $1,662,683

               LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
    Accounts payable                                 $77,890        $74,630
    Other liabilities                                101,389        111,164
    Accrued compensation and benefits                 95,435         88,826
    Current portion of long-term debt                  7,978          9,034
    Income taxes payable                               9,909         15,027
        Total current liabilities                    292,601        298,681
    Long-term debt                                 1,311,252        811,190
    Other long-term liabilities                        9,417          5,012
    Deferred income taxes                             65,930         23,441
    Minority interests                                26,229         20,722
    Commitments and contingencies
    Shareholders' equity:
      Preferred stock ($0.001 par value, 5,000,000
       shares authorized; none issued)
      Common stock ($0.001 par value, 195,000,000
       shares authorized; 88,874,896 and
       85,409,037 shares issued)                          89             85
      Additional paid-in capital                     519,369        467,904
      Retained earnings                              213,337         56,008
      Treasury stock, at cost (28,216,177 and
       888,700 shares)                              (662,531)       (20,360)
        Total shareholders' equity                    70,264        503,637
                                                  $1,775,693     $1,662,683


                                 DAVITA INC.

                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
                (dollars in thousands, except per share data)

                               Three months ended         Years ended
                                  December 31,           December 31,
                               2002        2001         2002         2001

    Net operating
     revenues             $503,096      $429,657  $ 1,854,632    $1,650,753
    Operating expenses:
      Dialysis centers
       and labs            317,061       290,881    1,217,685     1,100,652
      General and
       administrative       39,328        33,814      154,453       129,194
      Depreciation and
       amortization         16,895        26,156       64,665       105,209
      Provision for
       uncollectible
       accounts              7,623         3,580       26,877       (2,294)
      Impairments and
       valuation adjustments 2,010                      (380)
        Total operating
         expenses          382,917       354,431    1,463,300     1,332,761

    Operating income       120,179        75,226      391,332       317,992
    Other income, net          818           320        5,790         4,644
    Debt expense            19,458        15,680       71,636        72,438
    Minority interests
     in income of
     consolidated
     subsidiaries          (2,128)       (2,408)      (9,299)       (9,260)
      Income before income
       taxes and
       extraordinary
       items                99,411        57,458      316,187       240,938
    Income tax expense      40,600        24,900      129,500       104,600
      Income before
       extraordinary items  58,811        32,558      186,687       136,338
    Extraordinary (loss)
     gain related to
     early extinguishments
     of debt, net of tax
     of $19,572 in 2002 and
     $(652) in 2001                                  (29,358)           977
     Net income            $58,811       $32,558     $157,329      $137,315

    Basic earnings per
     common share:
      Income before
       extraordinary items   $0.97         $0.38        $2.60         $1.63
      Extraordinary (loss)
       gain, net of tax                                (0.41)          0.01
      Net income             $0.97         $0.38        $2.19         $1.64


    Diluted earnings per common share:
      Income before
       extraordinary items   $0.81         $0.36        $2.28         $1.51
      Extraordinary (loss)
       gain, net of tax                                (0.32)          0.01
      Net income             $0.81         $0.36        $1.96         $1.52


                                 DAVITA INC.

                         SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA

                           Q4 2002       Q3 2002       Q4 2001       YE 2002
    Financial Results:
    Net earnings, excluding
     prior period Medicare lab
     revenue, extraordinary
     items, recoveries, valuation
     adjustments and goodwill
     amortization
     (in 000's) (A)        $34,600       $37,400      $35,700      $147,700
      Basic EPS              $0.57         $0.58        $0.42         $2.06
      EPS assuming dilution  $0.50         $0.51        $0.39         $1.85

    EBITDA, excluding prior
     period Medicare lab
     revenue, recoveries and
     valuation adjustments
      Consolidated
       (in 000's)          $97,000       $99,800      $96,300      $391,600
      Continental U.S.
       (in 000's).         $97,000       $99,800      $96,000      $391,500
      Continental EBITDA
       margin                21.0%         22.0%        22.5%         21.9%

    Business Metrics (Continental U.S.):
     Category #1 Volume
      Treatments         1,537,821     1,516,840    1,481,958     5,975,280
      Number of treatment
       days                   79.6            79         79.6           313
      Treatments per day    19,319        19,201       18,618        19,090
      Per day year over
       year increase          3.8%          4.6%         8.4%          5.0%
      Same center growth
       (year over year)       2.9%          3.7%         4.6%          3.9%
      Non-acquired growth
       (year over year)       2.9%          3.8%         4.6%          3.9%

     Category #2 Revenue,
      excluding prior period
      Medicare lab revenue
      and recoveries
      Revenue (in 000's)  $462,000      $454,000     $426,000    $1,790,000

      Dialysis revenue
       per treatment       $291.02       $290.92      $283.19       $290.73
      Per treatment
       increase from
       previous quarter       0.0%          0.1%         1.1%            --
      Per treatment
       increase from
       prior year             2.8%          3.8%         6.3%          4.4%

     Category #3 Expenses
     A. Dialysis centers
         and lab operating
         expenses
        Percent of revenue   68.7%         67.9%        67.5%         67.7%
        Per treatment      $206.17       $203.34      $194.03       $202.79
        Per treatment
         increase (decrease)
         from previous
         quarter              1.4%          1.4%         1.5%            --

     B. General &
         administrative
         expenses
        Percent of revenue    8.5%          8.2%         7.9%          8.6%
        Per treatment       $25.57        $24.42       $22.82        $25.85
        Per treatment
         increase (decrease)
         from previous
         quarter              4.7%       (13.6%)         4.9%            --

     C. Bad debt expense
         as a percent of
         current-period
         revenue              1.8%          1.9%         2.0%          1.8%

     D. Consolidated
         effective tax rate  40.8%         40.0%        43.3%         41.0%

    Category #4, Cash Flow
     (Consolidated, including
     prior period recoveries,
     in 000's)
      Operating cash flow  $66,000      $134,000      $23,000      $342,000
      Free cash flow (before
       share repurchase,
       acquisition and
       development
       spending)           $49,000      $124,000       $9,000      $286,000
      Capital expenditures:
        Development        $19,600       $11,700       $7,400       $47,000
        Routine
         maintenance/IT/
         other             $16,700       $10,500      $14,500       $55,900
      Acquisition
       expenditures, net    $6,500       $10,600           --       $18,500

    Category #5 Accounts Receivable
      Net receivables
       (in 000's)         $344,000      $340,000     $325,000      $344,000
      DSO                       70            70           72            70

    Category #6 Debt/Capital
     Structure (Consolidated)
      Total debt
       (in 000's)       $1,319,000    $1,322,000     $820,000    $1,319,000
      Net debt, net of
       cash (in 000's)  $1,223,000    $1,207,000     $784,000    $1,223,000
      LTM net leverage
       ratio                  3.1x          3.2x         3.2x          3.1x
      Shares repurchased
       (in 000's)            1,900         5,600          800        27,300
      Average repurchase
       price                $23.80        $21.88       $23.43        $23.50

    Category #7 Clinical
      Dialysis adequacy - %
       of patients with
       URR > 65                88%           88%          87%
      Dialysis adequacy - %
       of patients with
       Kt/V > 1.2              92%           91%          90%
      Anemia measure - %
       of patients with
       HCT > 33                83%           81%          79%


    (A) Effective January 1, 2002 goodwill is no longer amortized in
    accordance with new accounting standards.  Fourth quarter 2001 net
    earnings and per-share amounts, including goodwill amortization but
    excluding extraordinary items and recoveries, were $30 million or
    $0.35 basic EPS and $0.33 diluted EPS.


                                 DAVITA INC.

                    RECONCILIATIONS FOR NON-GAAP MEASURES

                                                    Q4 2002        YE 2002
                                                    (dollars in thousands)
    EBITDA, excluding impairments, prior period
     lab receipts and accounts receivable
     recoveries:
    Operating income                                $120,179       $391,332
    Depreciation and amortization                     16,895         64,665
    EBITDA                                           137,074        455,997
    Other exclusions:
      Prior period lab receipts                     (41,555)       (58,778)
      Impairments and valuations adjustments           2,010          (380)
      Accounts receivable recoveries                   (510)        (5,192)
                                                    (40,055)       (64,350)
                                                     $97,019       $391,647
    Net income, excluding impairments, prior
     period lab receipts and accounts
     receivable recoveries:
    Net income                                       $58,811       $157,329
    Extraordinary loss - extinguishment of debt
    Other exclusions:
      Prior period lab receipts                     (41,555)       (58,778)
      Impairments and valuations adjustments           2,010          (380)
      Accounts receivable recoveries                   (510)        (5,192)
                                                    (40,055)       (64,350)
      Income tax expense                              15,842         25,405
    Other exclusions, net of tax                    (24,213)       (38,945)
                                                     $34,598       $147,742

    Operating cash flow excluding lab and accounts
     receivable related to prior years' services
     and free cash flow:
     Cash provided by operating activities           $66,318       $341,995
    Less other exclusions, net of tax               (24,213)       (38,945)
    Operating cash flow excluding lab and accounts
     receivable related to prior years' services      42,105        303,050
    Less expenditures for routine maintenance and
     information technology                         (16,706)       (55,936)
    Free cash flow                                   $25,399       $247,114