Avon Technologies (LSE:AVON), the manufacturer of military-grade respiratory products, posted a 39.4% increase in adjusted operating profit to $24.4m in the six months to 31 March, alongside a 6.8% rise in revenue to $160.8m versus the prior-year period.
Adjusted operating margin widened to 15.2%, comfortably inside the Group's 14-16% target range, adjusted basic earnings per share rose 45.4% to 56.4 cents and return on invested capital improved to 20.8% from 16.3%, underpinning progress at Avon Technologies, the military and law‑enforcement protective equipment specialist.
Avon Protection led the top-line, delivering 23% revenue growth and a 22.3% adjusted operating margin, while Team Wendy saw revenue hit by a backlog in ballistic testing from the US government shutdown even as its margin improved to 5.4% on better production performance.
The closing order book fell to $219.9m (HY25: $247m) with DoW timing and temporary US commercial weakness cited, net debt excluding lease liabilities rose to $58m (HY25: $54.9m), and reported HY26 operating profit included $2.8m of amortisation and $5.1m of transformation costs.
Post period the group secured a $14m DoW4 filter order, a multi‑year MITR contract from the Canadian Armed Forces and a Middle East military order for the upgraded EXFIL Endurance helmet, and the company expects DoW follow‑on orders late in the calendar year with US commercial demand recovering in H2.
Avon said it is firmly on track to meet or exceed FY26 guidance and will publish new mid‑term growth targets with the full‑year results.
"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," Jos Sclater, Chief Executive Officer, said.
