Avon results buoyed by military demand

Melksham, UK – Avon Rubber plc is set to report strong results for the financial year 2018 (ending 30 Sept), according to a 14-Sept trading update by the company.

“The Board is pleased to report that trading in the second half has continued to be strong and it expects 2018 full year adjusted profit before tax to be in line with its expectations,” said the UK-based rubber group in its trading update.

Avon Protection business unit, which manufactures respiratory protective equipment (RPE) and masks, is set to post a 7% year-on-year increase in revenue, at constant currency, the company noted.

In the second half, Avon said its military business received orders from the US Department of Defense (“DoD”) for 116,000 M50 mask systems, bringing total orders received during the year to 216,000 systems.

The company expects to deliver 182,000 M50 mask systems to the DoD during the current financial year, with a substantial carry-over of 83,000 systems into our 2019 financial year.

In July, the company announced that the US Department of Defense (DoD) had placed a $25-million (€21.5 million) order for 93,000 M50 mask systems.

“There remains an active pipeline of incremental contract opportunities across the military business and we remain well placed to make further progress in capitalising on our leading military position and product range,” the company added.

Avon, however, noted that despite solid growth in demand for military masks, tougher market conditions had continued to impact its ‘fire business’ performance in the second half of the year.

The company which also supplies dairy solutions milkrite through its InterPuls subsidiary said the global dairy market environment remained positive during the current financial year.

With improved trading conditions in North America in the second half, Avon expects a constant currency revenue growth of around 4% in that business.

“The Group’s momentum has carried over into the second half of the year with Avon Protection continuing to benefit from opportunities across its product portfolio and customer base,” commented CEO Paul McDonald.

With a strong order book, McDonald said Avon was “well-positioned” to deliver growth and “take advantage of new product opportunities” in the year to come.

Avon will publish its full year results 14 Nov.