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

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

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

Although demand for respiratory products decreased, this was offset by higher orders for military helmets.

Healthy demand: Protective equipment maker Avon Protection revealed its order book at the end of September was up more than 10 percent on the previous year

Avon’s backlog of next-generation ballistic helmets stands at $59m (£48.3m) after a $38m deal was recently received from the US military.

At the same time, orders for its Advanced Combat Helmet totaled more than $20 million, following a supply order worth at least $7 million from the US Department of Defense.

Thanks to steady order volumes, the group said revenue was “significantly above” the prior six-month figure of $116.2 million, which was below forecasts due to weak demand from the Defense Department and lower sales of respiratory goods.

The turnover was supported by the growth of Avon’s ballistic helmet program, a significant order of masks and sales of the new EPIC helmets, with more than 5,500 of them ordered and 3,200 shipped.

Avon decided to exit its loss-making body armor segment two years ago after regulatory tests found the firm’s vests were not armored, leading to delays in product approvals and the publication of annual results.

He said all pending armor-related items have been delivered to customers and expects the division to be classified as discontinued in the 2023 financial year.

“This means 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 debt to twice its underlying earnings of 2.6 times.

Jos Sclater, chief executive of Avon, said: “We are now seeing more robust financial results as a result of our actions to strengthen the business by increasing accountability and improving operations and program management.”

“Specifically, we have demonstrated our ability to supply helmets to the Department of Defense, which is reflected by a stronger order book.”

Formerly called Avon Rubber, the company began in 1885 as a tire manufacturer and has since gone on to produce gas masks, cow milking machines, animal leg and neck tags and thermal imaging cameras, along with protective equipment for the US military and law enforcement organs.

Avon Protection shares were 2.8% higher at £6.88 on Friday morning, but are still down about 35% this year.