Swindon & Wiltshire News
Wiltshire defence firm turns a profit amid fear of global conflicts
A Wiltshire-based manufacturer of personal protection gear for the military and emergency services has turned around its financial fortunes amid the growing risk of global conflicts.
The protection division of Melksham-based Avon Technologies saw orders increase by 69 per cent and it secured orders worth $170.5m in the six months ending March 31.
An interim loss of £1.5 million in its last financial report was turned around to a pre-tax profit of £3.1 million on revenues of £148.7 million – up 16.8 per cent.
In March, the company announced it had won new orders from NATO.
CEO Jos Sclater told investors: ““Our strategy is delivering and we remain confident that our approach to improving businesses creates value. This is illustrated by our strong order book and our revenue and profit growth in the first half.
“We remain resolute in pursuing our strategy and improving our businesses, notwithstanding an increasingly uncertain macro-economic and geopolitical environment.
“The pace of change in Avon Technologies is accelerating and we continue to build our people’s capability to enable this to happen. I am grateful to all our colleagues for supporting the changes we are all making to enable Avon Technologies to thrive.
The next six months are important to us. While we still have a lot to do, we are optimistic that we will achieve our margin target a year early in 2026.”
The company – a major supplier to the US military with facilities in California and Cleeveland, said it “does not expect US tariffs or DOGE to impact our ability to meet our medium-term target margin range.”
