RadNet touts successful efforts to boost advanced imaging interest, with PET/CT volumes up 16%
RadNet Inc. is touting advanced imaging growth, with PET/CT volumes a bright spot, up 16.2% compared to last year.
The Los Angeles-based, publicly traded imaging center operator announced its second quarter earnings results Sunday ahead of an investor call Monday morning. RadNet said it is making a concerted effort to drive more procedures across CT, MRI and PET/CT, which deliver higher reimbursement and revenues.
These efforts are paying off, with aggregate advanced imaging volumes up 9% versus the same three months last year. CT, MRI and PET/CT now represent about 27.5% of RadNet’s total procedural volumes, up from 26.5% in Q2 of 2024.
“Our focus has been on driving more advanced imaging procedures and increasing advanced imaging capacity at the imaging centers through a variety of initiatives,” CEO Howard Berger, MD, said in an Aug. 10 announcement. “In response to high demand and patient backlogs in many of RadNet’s local markets, we continue to pursue capacity expansion through the development and construction of new imaging centers,” he added later, noting the company just opened a de novo center in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and has nine more in the pipeline for 2025.
Altogether, RadNet now operates 405 centers spread across eight states: Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Texas. On a same-center basis—only counting locations open both quarters—MRI volumes were up about 6.6%, CT 5.9% and PET/CT 16.2%, while routine imaging such as mammography and X-ray climbed 1.4%. Overall, MRI accounted for about 37.3% of all payments to RadNet by modality in Q2 versus 15.7% for CT and 8.7% for PET/CT.
Berger and colleagues listed several actions undertaken to bolster advanced imaging case counts. They’ve created excess capacity through investments in MRI software upgrades and operating protocols, enabling shorter scan times. CT programs have expanded on both coasts to offer more complex procedures such as cardiac CT angiography, often with AI enhancements. Meanwhile, in PET/CT—the company’s fasted growing modality, up 22.4% when also incorporating newly opened or acquired centers—RadNet has emphasized newer diagnostic and screening offerings, Berger said. This has included imaging for prostate cancer, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, along with new “leading edge, tumor-specific radioactive tracers.”
Implementation of the company’s recently cleared TechLive solution, which allows technologists to control advanced imaging scanners remotely, has further driven growth in MRI and other modalities. It also has helped RadNet overcome rad tech workforce challenges, Berger added, expanding hours of operation and making exam rooms available, “which otherwise would have been closed.”
Advanced imaging growth, coupled with “effective cost management,” contributed to an increase in RadNet’s adjusted earnings margin. This figure hit 16.3% in the second quarter, up from 15.7% the same period of 2024. Adjusted earnings—before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization—were up 12.3% year-over year, hitting $81.2 million. Total quarterly revenues were up 8.4%, reaching an all-time company record of $498.2 million. Meanwhile, RadNet’s Digital Health segment, which includes AI and other workflow offerings, earned revenue of $20.7 million (up 30.9% vs. last year) and adjusted earnings of $3.4 million (up 4.1%).
Total company net income for the second quarter was $14.5 million compared to a net loss of -$3 million last year. However, when adjusting for various mitigating factors, RadNet’s Q2 earnings were roughly $23.8 million. These one-off items included $2 million in non-cash losses from interest rate swaps, $496,000 in expenses related to leasing new centers under construction, $2.3 million in acquisition transactions costs, and $4.8 million for research and development.
As of June 30, RadNet had roughly $833.2 million in cash on its balance sheet, and a company-estimated debt-to-earnings ratio at 0.96x. In June ratings snapshot, S&P placed the figure at between 4.5x to 5x, with obligations including a $282 million revolving credit line maturing in 2029 and a $968 million first-lien term loan maturing in 2031, along with $24 million more in equipment-related debts.
RadNet plans to host a quarterly earnings call to discuss the results on Monday, Aug. 11, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Those interested can dial 844-826-3035 from the U.S. or find a simultaneous live and archived webcast here.
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.