Avon Protection secures stronger second half on military-grade helmet demand

Protective equipment maker Avon Protection achieved stronger trading during the second half of the last financial year.

The Wiltshire-based firm, which supplied gas masks during World War Two, revealed its order book at the end of September was up more than 10 per cent on the prior year.

While demand for respiratory products has fallen, this was offset by stronger orders  military-grade helmets.

Healthy Demand: Protective equipment maker Avon Protection revealed its order book at the end of September was up more than 10 per cent on the prior year

Outstanding orders for Avon’s next-generation ballistic helmets totalled $59million (£48.3million), having recently received a $38million deal from the US Army.

At the same time, orders for its Advanced Combat Helmet stood at over $20million following a delivery order worth at least $7million that was granted by the US Department of Defense.

Thanks to healthy order volumes, the group noted revenue was ‘significantly above’ the previous six months’ figure of $116.2million, which was below forecasts due to subdued demand from the DoD and lower sales of respiratory goods.

Turnover was supported by the ramp-up of Avon’s ballistic helmet programme, a substantial mask order and sales of its new EPIC helmets, with over 5,500 of them ordered and 3,200 shipped.

Avon decided to exit its loss-making armour segment two years ago after regulatory tests discovered the firm’s vests were not bulletproof, causing delays in product approvals and the publication of its annual results.

It said all pending armour-related items had been delivered to customers, and it expects the division to be classified as discontinued for the 2023 financial year.

‘This means that we now have a more profitable and focused business and a stronger platform for future growth,’ Avon told investors.

The company also said the move would help reduce its net debts to twice the level of underlying earnings from 2.6 times.

Jos Sclater, Avon’s chief executive, said: ‘We are now seeing more reliable financial performance as a result of our actions to strengthen the business by increasing accountability and improving operations and programme management.’

‘In particular, we have demonstrated our ability to deliver helmets to the DOD, which is reflected by a stronger order book.’

Formerly called Avon Rubber, the firm began in 1885 as a tyremaker and has since gone on to manufacture gas masks, cow-milking machines, animal leg and neck tags and thermal imaging cameras, alongside protective equipment for the US military and law enforcement.

Avon Protection shares were 2.8 er cent higher at £6.88 on Friday morning but have still slumped by around 35 per cent this year.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk