AGM Trading Update
27 January 2023
Jos Sclater joined Avon Protection as our new Chief Executive Officer at the start of this month and we welcome him to the Group.
Avon Protection is pleased to announce a trading update for the first quarter of its 2023 financial year (“Q1” or the “Period”), ahead of its Annual General Meeting today.
Respiratory and head protection sales were at similar levels to Q1 2022, following a strong final quarter in respiratory last year. Overall, revenue in Q1 was up 6% versus last year, driven by the previously anticipated increase in sales of armour products.
Work to ramp up production on the Next-Generation IHPS helmet is ongoing, ahead of first deliveries in H2. The First Article Testing process for the ACH GEN II helmet is progressing well, with initial revenue expected in the first half of 2024. Body armour pressing and assembly is progressing as planned, though costs per unit remain high. We continue to expect armour production to end in Q3, with completion of deliveries by the end of the financial year.
The Group has a strong order pipeline for our leading respiratory products and further growth in demand is expected for our head protection range. Due to the normal seasonality and timing of order receipts, revenue will be weighted to the second half, with FY23 expected to represent a year of good progress for Avon Protection.
Bruce Thompson, Non-Executive Chair, said:
“Jos Sclater joined Avon Protection as our new Chief Executive Officer at the start of this month and we welcome him to the Group. We look forward to making further progress on our key operational and strategic initiatives as we enter a new chapter of delivery, improvement and growth under his leadership.”
Avon Protection will report its Interim Results for the six months ending 31 March 2023 on 23 May 2023.