Avon Technologies plc (LON:AVON) has announced its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2026.
TRANSFORMATION DELIVERING.
FOCUSING ON GROWTH.
| 31 March 2026 | 31 March 2025 | Change(constant currency)3 | |
| Group | |||
| Orders received | $117.9m | $170.5m | (31.6%) |
| Closing order book | $219.9m | $247.0m | (11.4%) |
| Revenue | $160.8m | $148.7m | 6.8% |
| Adjusted1 operating profit | $24.4m | $17.5m | 39.4% |
| Adjusted1 profit before tax | $21.8m | $14.8m | 47.3% |
| Adjusted1 basic earnings per share | 56.4c | 38.8c | 45.4% |
| Interim dividend per share | 8.1c | 7.6c | 6.6% |
| Net debt excluding lease liabilities | $58.0m | $54.9m | 5.6% |
| Statutory results | |||
| Operating profit2 | $16.5m | $6.2m | |
| Profit before tax | $13.5m | $3.1m | |
| Basic earnings per share | 35.0c | 8.1c | |
| Net debt | $74.2m | $74.7m |
Strong H1 performance
· Delivered medium-term targets for growth, margin, ROIC and leverage 18 months early
· Improved commercial and manufacturing execution plus increased reliability of Cleveland production rates driving group margin into target range
· Lower closing order book due to timing of DoW4 orders and temporary weakness in US commercial helmet demand in Team Wendy. DoW4 follow-on orders expected towards the end of this calendar year. Recovery in US commercial helmet demand expected in H2.
Heightened global threat driving demand
· Number of active conflict zones at its highest level since the end of World War II
· Product upgrade & replenishment demand driven by threat environment and increasing military personnel
Strategy advancing from transformation to growth focus
· Continuous improvement driving increased efficiency, reliability and cost advantage
· Cleveland site delivering DoW4 contractual rates with improving reliability and operating leverage drop-through
· Long term visibility of core programmes and exciting progress diversifying into new and adjacent growth markets:
o Received multi-year MITR contract from the Canadian Armed Forces
o $14m DoW4 filter order received post period end
o New Middle East military order received for upgraded ‘EXFIL Endurance’ helmet post period end
· Ambitious product development pipeline and M&A framework to drive next stage of growth
Firmly on track to meet or exceed FY26 guidance with exciting long-term growth prospects
· Increasingly confident in H2 delivery with strong commercial and international pipelines
· Still see significant operational improvement opportunities in both businesses
· Clear pipeline of opportunities to outperform core markets and deliver sustainable growth
· New mid-term growth targets to be set out with FY26 results
Jos Sclater, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We delivered a strong first half performance, with revenue, profit and margin all up significantly, reflecting the long-term demand opportunity in our markets and the progress we have made in strengthening our operational execution.
Since we launched our STAR strategy three years ago, we have focused on building a stronger, more reliable business underpinned by a culture of continuous improvement. Our Strengthen System is improving execution, creating capacity, and generating cash and we are advancing with confidence from stabilisation to growth.
Against a rapidly changing geopolitical backdrop, demand across our installed base is increasing and our markets continue to grow. We have strong brands and sales channels, long‑term growth visibility and an exciting development pipeline to support expansion internationally and into adjacent markets. We are increasingly confident in sustaining and continuing to deliver growth ahead of our core markets. We look forward to setting out new mid‑term targets at the end of the financial year to underpin our next stage of growth.”
Analyst & investor webcast and retail investor presentation:
Jos Sclater, Chief Executive Officer, and Rich Cashin, Chief Financial Officer, will host a presentation for analysts and investors at 9.00am today at Peel Hunt, 100 Liverpool Street, EC2M 2AT. To attend in person please contact: [email protected] [email protected]. The presentation will also be broadcast live at: https://brrmedia.news/AVON_HY26
Notes
1 The Directors believe that adjusted measures provide a useful comparison of business trends and performance. Adjusted results exclude adjusting items and discontinued operations. The term adjusted is not defined under IFRS and may not be comparable with similarly titled measures used by other companies.
2 Reported HY26 operating profit includes $2.8m amortisation of acquired intangibles and transformation costs of $5.1m. See adjusted performance section 2.1 for full breakdown of adjustments and comparatives.
3 Constant currency measures are provided in note 2.1.
4 United States Department of War
