Quest Diagnostics 1996 Annual Report Download - page 5

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provide each client; to focus our busi-
ness on markets where we are -- or
can become -- the market leader; and
to reestablish our role as the indus-
try’s leading innovator.
We have stabilized our business. In
1997 we expect to maintain marginal
profitability. Going forward, as the
benefits of our current efforts across
Quest Diagnostics begin translating
into results, we anticipate accelerated
earnings growth.
None of this will be easy. Many of our
efforts have just begun, and we fully
understand the considerable obstacles
that lie before us. Nevertheless, we
look to the future with pride in our
accomplishments, confidence in the
capabilities of our people, and excite-
ment about the opportunities that lie
within our grasp.
We hope you will join us in the turn-
around of Quest Diagnostics!
Kenneth W. Freeman
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer
At the same time, we are moving
aggressively to team up with strong
partners in selected regions across
the country. An early example is the
developing relationship with the
world-renowned University of
Pittsburgh Medical Center to explore
close collaboration in four areas: lab
testing, anatomic pathology, molecu-
lar diagnostic testing, and medical
information systems. Similar relation-
ships are in varying stages of develop-
ment in other markets.
Finally, we see promising develop-
ments in the area of scientific innova-
tion. We have just received U.S. Food
and Drug Administration approval for
the Nichols Advantage™ system, a
state-of-the-art automated medical
testing analyzer that will be shipped
to customers starting later this year.
And, we see significant opportunities
at Quest Informatics, a business that
draws upon our rich store of medical
data to create medical knowledge
essential for more effective disease
management.
Our Challenges
Our challenges are clear: to stan-
dardize the operations, processes and
systems of our multitude of laboratory
facilities and support services; to con-
vert unprofitable customer accounts
into profitable ones by better match-
ing our prices and the services we
(front)
Kenneth W. Freeman,
Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer;
(back left to right)
Dr. Gregory C. Critchfield,
Senior Vice President and
Chief Medical and
Science Officer;
Don M. Hardison Jr.,
Senior Vice President
Sales and Marketing;
Douglas M. VanOort,
Senior Vice President
Operations.