Fertility company Monash IVF Ltd (ASX: MVF) has appointed a new Managing Director as the company looks to recover from what has been a challenging year.
The new boss, Dr Victoria Atkinson, will not start in the role until 18 May next year, however.
Monash IVF shares are currently changing hands for 66.5 cents, down 0.7% on the day and not far off their 12-month lows of 53.7 cents.
Image source: Getty Images
Poor operational execution
The company ran into trouble earlier this year when it emerged that it had botched two embryo transplants, with one of those incidents resulting in a woman giving birth to a genetically unrelated baby.
The company's shares tumbled from levels above $1 per share in April, when news of one of the incidents, which occurred in Brisbane, was reported in the media.
The company said in a statement at the time it had been aware of the incident since February, when it instigated an investigation which found human error was to blame.
Monash IVF's then-managing director, Michaal Knaap, who had led the company since 2019, resigned in June, and the company also dropped out of the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) at its September rebalance.
Chair Richard Davis, in the company's annual report released earlier this month, apologised for the incidents, and reassured shareholders that, while the company had halted dividend payments for FY25, it did aim to reinstate dividends "provided performance aligns with the FY26 underlying NPAT guidance we provided … on 22 August".
A new start
Monash said on Tuesday that Dr Atkinson was "a distinguished healthcare executive" with more than 30 years of experience spanning clinical, operational, and governance roles in the public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.
The company went on to say:
Victoria's current role is the chief medical officer at Healthscope, where she oversees clinical strategy, governance, risk, medical affairs and medico-legal portfolios across a network of 36 hospitals, 15 intensive care units and 11 mental health facilities nationwide.
The company said Dr Atkinson was a cardiothoracic surgeon by training, and also had a Master's in Health Management.
Mr Davis welcomed the appointment.
The board has undertaken a thorough search process and the Board is impressed that Victoria brings a unique combination of clinical and financial experience to the role. We are looking forward to Victoria bringing that focus to our people, our doctors and our patients.
Monash IVF was valued at $261.1 million at the close of trade on Monday.
Macquarie recently published a price target for Monash IVF shares of $1.
