Scottish medical testing firm Omega Diagnostics has revealed new plans to drive long-term growth.
The operations of the Alva-based firm have been under review since the appointment of Dundee-based Colin King as chief operating officer in August.
Mr King told The Courier he had been pleased by what he had found as much of the operational foundations were already in place.
But he was convinced there was still strong growth available to the business in markets such as China and America, particularly for its gut-health products.
“Why did I go to Omega from a successful business?” Mr King said.
“Well I didn’t join Omega to manage a £12 million to £15m business; I joined because I believe it has real growth potential and is at the bottom of a growth curve.”
Details of the review came as Omega revealed its first-half trading performance for the six months to September 30.
Revenues climbed from £5.68m in 2014 to £6.14m but pre-tax profits dipped from £208,418 to £177,360.
Chairman David Evans said the core Omega business was “resilient and able to withstand certain headwinds” but Mr King’s review had opened up new avenues for the firm to go down.
“Since coming on board as our new chief operating officer, Colin King is reviewing all our operations and I am pleased that he sees significant potential to accelerate growth in parts of our existing business.
“We are in the process of putting together a three-to-five year business plan to capitalise on these opportunities.
Mr Evans said the firm’s automated allergy products were approaching the point where it would become earnings enhancing and progress had been made towards resolving the issues with its flagship CD4 HIV indicating blood test.
“There are no short-cuts and inevitably this takes time to progress, with each experiment yielding information which we continue to build on,” Mr Evans said.
“One has to believe that this systematic process will yield a positive end result, but there are no guarantees.
“We remain confident overall for the growth prospects for the company.”
Shares were 0.25p lower at 15.25p.