First strike for Avita Medical

Spray-on skin company Avita Medical has pledged to reform its executive pay policy after shareholders overwhelmingly rejected its remuneration report, earning the company a first strike.

Avita held its annual meeting in Perth on Friday and on Sunday had yet to announce voting results to the market.

However, The West Australian reported 75 per cent of votes cast fell against the remuneration report.

A second strike could trigger a spill of the company's board.

Avita Medical's two biggest shareholders, Australian Ethical Investment and Bioscience Managers, have been campaigning against the cash bonuses earned by Avita's chief executive, Bill Dolphin.

Bioscience Managers has also criticised Avita's performance in commercialising its key asset, a spray-on skin technology developed by former Australian of the Year Fiona Wood and used to treat burn victims of 2002's Bali bombing.

Avita Medical chairman Dalton Gooding told the meeting he would step down before next year's annual meeting. In a statement on Sunday, he said he was ''disappointed'' by the remuneration report vote.

''It is contingent on the board to act on the votes cast, and in the spirit of the previous government's 'say on pay' reforms the board will begin discussions on what changes should be made to the company's remuneration policy so it is more acceptable to shareholders,'' he said.

''Avita Medical and its management have a clear focus on how best to develop Avita Medical's ReCell spray-on skin technology, and generate revenue from it, in the next 12 months and beyond.''

The company's latest cash-flow statement shows it burnt through $1.9 million in the three months to the end of September. Research was the company's biggest expense, costing $1.2 million.