Shares in cancer treatment specialist Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) are up around 3% to $31.45 in morning trade after the company announced the appointment of a new head for its US operations.
From July 1 Kevin Richardson will take over the role having previously been General Manager and Vice President for Sirtex North America over the last six years.
The internal appointment of a long-serving employee is likely to be well received by investors, as the head of North America role is arguably the most important position at the company after the chief executive.
The Americas are Sirtex's core growth region as it recorded $89.4 million of revenues in that region out of a total of $112.6 million for the six-month period ending December 31 2015.
Sirtex then is heavily leveraged to a weaker Australian dollar and if interest rates in Australia do drop to as low 1% over the course of 2016 and beyond then its earnings margins could enjoy a substantial uplift. This would provide a tailwind to a business that is expecting to grow dose sales for the financial year at a rate of at least 19.8% over the prior year.
The company is also lifting its margins as expenses as a percentage of sales decline and it is able to raise prices thanks to the quality of its product. Later in 2016 Sirtex is also expected to reveal the results of its SARAH clinical trial, which has been designed to provide further clinical evidence as to the efficacy of its targeted radiation therapy in treating liver cancer.
Healthcare shares are enjoying a strong start to the week with radiology specialists Primary Health Care Limited (ASX: PRY) and Sonic Health Care Limited (ASX: SHL) both rising more than 5 per cent in trade today. This is reportedly due to rumours that the two companies may benefit from proposed new legislative changes.
