Medical technology services provider Image Plus Consultant is exploring business acquisition opportunities just a year after purchasing a property on Lady Musgrave Road in Kingston to house its new headquarters.

The company, which trades as Apex Radiology, currently offers its services in Kingston and Ocho Rios. However, CEO Kisha Anderson says it is looking to expand beyond those geographic areas through inorganic means.

“Any opportunities that we look at in terms of expansion or consolidation of the industry would be to place us in a location where we are not currently, by way of a going concern; meaning a business that is there and running already,” Anderson said.

“We intend to expand out of the Corporate Area and Ocho Rios by looking at another entity and perhaps consolidating, [or] acquiring. Not by going and starting from scratch,” she continued, adding that acquisition opportunities, if exploited, would allow the company to immediately increase its revenue inflow and would simultaneously bring cost savings through the consolidation of some functions including human resources, accounting, and marketing.

Image Plus is exploring acquisition opportunities at a time when the company is moving towards steady growth. However, the plans are not immediate.

“If there are opportunities that we see, well-priced and that make sense, meaning it will be a seamless business to integrate in a market where we are not now, I think our board is open to fully explore it,” Anderson said.

For now, the company is more focused on the development of its headquarters and is also looking at ways to improve efficiency in its current business.

Last year, the company acquired a nearly three-quarter-acre property in Kingston for US$3 million on which it plans to build at least four floors, half of which may be placed on the rental market.

The board is expected to meet soon to make a decision on how construction of the development, among other projects will be financed.

“My recommendation would not be that we pursue the route of debt for the build-out, but that we pursue some kind of joint venture partnership to get it done. But those are things that the board will be considering in the first to second quarter of FY 2025 and I’m sure it’s something that we will make further statements around in keeping with our obligations,” Anderson said during the company’s recent earnings call.

Construction is expected to be completed by the close of the 2025 financial year.

The property acquisition in addition to costs associated with the purchase of new machinery pushed expenses up for the 2024 financial year by 14 per cent year on year to $477.6 million. As a result, earnings of the company dipped 10 per cent year on year to $24.5 million.

However, revenues climbed 9.3 per cent, resulting in the company hitting the $1-billion mark for FY 2024.

Anderson is adamant that the company will maintain that growth track for FY 2025, owing to new operating modalities, operating efficiencies, cost adjustments, along with efforts by the company to retain and keep staff motivated.

“We have proven that we will continue to grow. We have proven that the quality of what we are offering is finding favour and we continue to go further. We do have to look at any little challenges that we have. Some of our doctors have expressed concern about the timeline for the delivery of our non-emergency cases, they said they would like to see some improvement there and we are going to work on it. We are never going to fool ourselves into thinking that everything is perfect,” Anderson said.

“There are so many things that we are embarking on and we are very optimistic that the things that we are going to be doing are going to cement the brand of Image Plus/Apex Radiology for the future,” she continued.

Image Plus Consultants was incorporated in February 2006 and commenced operations at 2A Molynes Road in Kingston under the trade name Apex X-ray and Ultrasound Services. The company, which offers services such as MRIs, ultrasounds, X-rays, and CT scans, has since expanded to four locations.