Avon Rubber buoyant as net debt falls

ERJ staff report (TP)

Melksham, UK – Avon Rubber revealed its net debt is down as trading remains strong since the end of the first half of the financial year.

The company said it has seen strong conversion of profits into cash, and net debt at 30 June 2014 was £2.6m (€3.2m), which compares to £10.9m at 30 September 2013 and £5.5m at 31 March 2014.

During the period the group “successfully negotiated” a new and increased $40m (€29.9m) revolving credit facility with its bankers which runs to 30 November 2017.

In June, ERJ reported that Avon’s protection & defence business received orders worth £25m from the US Department of Defense (DoD).

The company has also seen an increased level of non-DoD orders from customers in the Americas, in particular in the fire services market for its newly approved Deltair SCBA (self-contained breathing apparatus).

Avon said it is the first supplier to receive approval for its closed circuit escape breathing device (EEBD) under the new NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) standard. This approval is an “essential requirement” under a solicitation by the US Navy which Avon expects to respond to later this calendar year.

The group will announce its results for the year to 30 September 2014 on 19 November 2014.

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Avon Rubber records massive profit and growth in interim 2014 results