Avon Protection PLC (LSE:AVON) said revenues from its core business were flat in its first quarter and that revenue is expected to be weighted to the second half of the year.
The top line was up roughly 6% in the quarter to the end of January, lifted by sales of armour products, a market that the group plans to fully withdraw from by the end of the year, with plans to stop production in the third quarter.
Quarterly revenue from its core business of military headwear and gas masks was roughly flat compared to the previous year.
New chief executive Jos Sclater joined at the start of this month, formerly finance chief at defence and aerospace groups Ultra Electronics and GKN.
He takes over following a dramatic rise and fall of the company over the past four years after it narrowed its focus to become solely a defence supplier, with acquisitions of 3M’s helmet and armour business and headgear maker Team Wendy in 2019 and 2020.
In a statement ahead of the group's annual shareholder meeting, chair Bruce Thompson said: "We look forward to making further progress on our key operational and strategic initiatives as we enter a new chapter."
Avon said it has a "strong" order pipeline for its respiratory products and expects "further growth in demand" for head protection.
It is ramping up production of the next-generation IHPS helmet ahead of the first deliveries expected in the second half of the year, with initial revenue of the US Army's ACH GEN II helmet anticipated in the first half of next year, with testing “progressing well”.
Shares were unsure of direction in early trading, rising, then falling, then flat at 1,013.32p.
Broker Peel Hunt said the focus in the 2023 fiscal year, in its view, "remains to ramp up production of next-generation IHPS helmets and successfully wind down and exit body armour", with both projects seemingly "progressing well".
"It remains early in the year to have a clear picture of the FY outcome, especially with a typical weighting to 2H, but we are encouraged by this short update.
"New CEO Jos Sclater has now joined the group, and we share the board’s confidence in his ability to make further progress on Avon’s key operational and strategic initiatives."