Highlights

• Avon Technologies closed FY26 with a $262.7m order book after lifting Revenue 12.7% to $353.7m.

• Adjusted operating profit jumped 50.6% to $60.7m, lifting the group's adjusted Operating Margin to 17.2% for FY26.

• Free Cash Flow rose 145.2% to $30.9m, while Balance Sheet Leverage fell to 0.43x from 0.86x.

• The group guides FY27 to mid-single-digit revenue growth, 16% to 18% margins and $50m-$60m free cash flow.

A $262.7m order book sits behind the latest numbers from Avon Technologies (LSE:AVON), which reported on 10 November 2026 that revenue climbed 12.7% to $353.7m for the year ended 30 September 2026. Profit grew far faster than sales, and the protection products maker said it had completed its STAR transformation programme. Chief Executive Jos Sclater summed it up plainly: "FY26 was a significant year for Avon."

The headline numbers

Adjusted operating profit rose 50.6% to $60.7m, giving an adjusted operating margin of 17.2%. Adjusted EBITDA increased 37.7% to $70.9m, and adjusted Earnings Per Share advanced 57.1% to 143.3c.

Free cash flow reached $30.9m, up 145.2%. Net Debt excluding Lease liabilities fell 32.7% to $33.7m, cutting leverage to 0.43x from 0.86x.

The top-line pace compares with growth of 13.8% in FY25, while the adjusted operating margin stood at 12.8% that year, meaning profitability improved far more sharply than sales.

Transformation completed early

"We completed our STAR transformation programme, exceeded all our medium-term targets a year ahead of plan," Sclater said. The company enters FY27 with a new strategy, branded Improve. Grow. Compound.

Set out at an October teach-in, that plan pairs organic targets of revenue growth above 5% a year and 16% to 18% margins with a five-year ambition for group revenue above $600m. The higher figure depends partly on selective acquisitions of protection technology businesses.

Orders and the two brands

Avon Technologies (LSE:AVON) trades through two brands, Avon Protection and Team Wendy. By comparison with the $262.8m reported a year earlier, the closing order book is broadly level on a simple calculation.

Recent contract news underlines the defence Demand behind it. Team Wendy received a further $20.3m ACH Gen II delivery order from the US Defense Logistics Agency in September, and Avon Protection won an order worth about $12m for its CBRN respiratory system from a European customer in August.

In October, the company said Team Wendy's order book grew materially in the second half, helped by the largest share of the NG IHPS order and renewal of the Australian Defence Force programme, and that its production had stabilised at target levels.

Signals to track in FY27

FY27 guidance points to mid-single-digit revenue growth, adjusted operating margins of 16% to 18% and free cash flow of $50m to $60m. The 17.2% margin delivered in FY26 sits inside that range, and the October update noted that FY26 profitability benefited from some one-off items.

Defence procurement timing, contract renewals and the pace of any acquisitions could all affect delivery. Investors in FTSE 250 stocks will also watch whether order intake keeps the order book at its current level.

Where Avon goes next

With the transformation finished, debt reduced and cash generation guided higher, the focus for this London Stock Exchange-listed group (LSE:AVON) moves from repair to growth. Sclater said the new strategy offers scope to build on existing positions and expand into adjacent protection markets.