Avon Rubber’s (LONDON:AVON) period-end announcement came with a kicker in terms of a strong final month performance in North American law enforcement, but, more importantly, a significant late Middle East order. The result is a 10% upgrade to our forecasts at operating profit level, highlighting the benefit of the group’s flexibility to switch between core DoD revenues and such “impact” orders at short notice. With core growth drivers intact and continued regional instability, additional prospects remain in the pipeline.