Thruvision names finance chief as new CEO after share worth crash

Security tech firm Thruvision has named finance chief Victoria Balchin as its new boss after the previous incumbent’s departure helped spark a share price crash.

Colin Evans’ exit in October came alongside warnings that revenues would likely slump to £1.9million for the six months to 30 September, from £3.5million 12 months earlier, driving Thurvision shares to a six-year low.

AIM-listed Thuvision said its board had unanimously backed the appointment of Balchin, who joined the firm in October 2022, and opted to shun a boarder search for Evans’ replacement.

The group, which was spun out from the Government’s Rutherford Appleton Labs in 2002, develops and sells security screening technology that can detect concealed objects on people.

Thruvision cameras use ‘Passive Terahertz Technology’ to detect differences in body heat, allowing them to see objects hidden under clothing.

Its shares have fallen more than 60 per cent in 2024 as sales have suffered an absence of material orders within its lucrative customs business.

Thruvision said Balchin, who will also retain the chief financial officer ‘for the foreseeable future’, has been ‘instrumental in ensuring that the business continues to be managed highly effectively with a view to returning Thruvision to growth in the second half of the financial year’.

Executive chair Tom Black, who Thruvision said would continue to have ‘strong involvement in day-to-day matters’, added: ‘Having worked with [Balchin] for two years now and particularly closely over the past three months, I am certain that she is the right person to lead the Thruvision team as we enter a crucial phase on our journey to profitability.’

Thuvision shares were up 2.5 per cent to 8.2p in early trading.