Like most, radiology provider Akumin has suffered through headwinds since the pandemic started. But the investor-owned imaging firm said it logged a solid second quarter after implementing several cost-cutting measures to counter the crisis.
Those included laying off or furloughing 29% of its workforce and temporarily shuttering 17 of its freestanding imaging centers. On an organic volume basis—excluding external factors such as acquisitions—Akumin saw business slide 30% year-over-year in the second quarter compared to the same period in 2019.
However, the company was able to generate revenue of $53.6 million, with adjusted earnings—before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—of $13.7 million.
“As stay-at-home orders lifted and the general understanding of the coronavirus disease improved, our volume began to recover,” President and CEO Riadh Zine said in a statement issued Wednesday.
After hitting a low point of 55% in mid-April, Akumin’s imaging volumes leapt back up to a 25% decline by late May and 15% at the end of Q2. The company has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases in core markets such as Texas and Florida, but third quarter volumes remain at 10%-15% below baseline, rather than the steeper drops seen in the spring.
Akumin was further propelled by a $1.1 million grant from Health and Human Services and $3.1 million in accelerated Medicare payments through the CARES Act. Zine added that the firm finished Q2 with $28 million cash on hand and did not need to draw on its revolving credit line for working capital.
With headquarters in both Toronto and Plantation, Florida, Akumin labels itself as the “leading” provider of freestanding, fixed-site outpatient imaging services in the U.S. It operates about 125 such centers in seven states, employing some 135 radiologists.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.