A sharp rise in new orders at defence manufacturing group Avon Rubber combined with a boost from its recent acquisitions helped it achieved strong growth.
The Melksham-headquartered group, which specialises in protective gear, masks and breathing equipment for the military and first-responder markets, said orders leapt by 46.5% year-on-year in the six months to March 31.
Military orders were up by 31.3% – including a $38m deal with NATO and a follow-up on the M69 aircrew mask contract with the US Department of Defense worth $17m – and orders for first-responder equipment by 28.3%.
Avon also benefitted from a first contribution of $18.4m from the Team Wendy safety helmet business.
Avon become a global leader in the manufacture of helmets for military personnel and first responders last November through its $130m acquisition of US-based Team Wendy, which makes head protection systems for military, law enforcement, search and rescue and the adventure markets.
Group half-year adjusted pre-tax profits came in 23.1% higher at £16m on a 41% jump in revenues to $122m.
Avon also proposed a name to Avon Protection during the second half in order to reflect its transformation into a provider of personal protection systems.
This follows last summer’s £180m sale of its historic dairy industry business, a move which gave it the financial fire power to grow its larger protective equipment division through strategic acquisitions.
Chief executive Paul McDonald said: “Following the transformation of the group in 2020 into a leading provider of life-critical personal protection systems, we have made a strong start to 2021, continuing to deliver organic growth in orders and revenues, together with further progress against our strategic objectives.
“We have seen significant growth in respiratory protection from both military and first responder customers, while Team Wendy has performed well following the acquisition in November 2020, and we completed the integration of the ballistic protection business acquired in January 2020 from 3M.
“Given the $157m order book and strong pipeline of opportunities across our personal protection portfolio, we are confident of delivering full-year expectations and remain excited by the medium-term prospects.”
He added that good progress was being made to resolve the delays in product approval for its body armour programmes and it remained on track to commence shipments in the first half of its 2022 financial year.
