Virus-protection needs propel AirBoss profit

Ontario-based supplier of respirators more than doubles revenue

AirBoss of America Corp. says its net profit surged in the third quarter on a more than doubling of revenues from supplying respirators and related products ordered by U.S. government agencies in response to COVID-19.

The Ontario-based company says its net income attributable to shareholders was $11.6 million (U.S.), or 47 cents per diluted share, up from $1.5 million, or seven cents per share, a year earlier.

AirBoss, which reports in U.S. dollars, says adjusted profit was $11.7 million, or 47 cents per share, compared with $1.8 million, or eight cents per share, in the third quarter of 2019.

Revenue for the three months ended Sept. 30 rose to $162.7 million from $77.2 million in the prior year.

AirBoss was expected to report 33 cents per share in adjusted profit on $140.3 million of revenue, according to financial data firm Refinitiv.

The results prompted its shares to surge 7.1 per cent, or $1.19, to $17.89 in Wednesday early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, closing at $17.19. AirBoss Defence Group, which is 100 per cent owned by AirBoss, delivered 100,000 respirator systems to the U.S. Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) under a $96.4 million contract issued in March.

“It is unclear what impact COVID-19 will have on the economy and our customer base in the near term. However, we believe our diversification positions us well either for a hopeful return to a safe normalcy or to continue supplying front-line workers with PPE if the pandemic continues or grows worse,” stated president and chief operating officer Chris Bitsakakis.

“Over the long term, our focus remains unchanged and we will continue to pursue opportunities to supply PPE for front-line health-care workers and work with regional, provincial, state and federal governments as an ongoing part of future strategic pandemic planning, target traditional defence contracts, and grow and diversify our rubber solutions and engineered products segments.”

The company told analysts that it hasn’t received any significant stockpiling orders for personal protective equipment since there hasn’t been much of a lull between Phase 1 and 2 of the pandemic.

“And most of our customers are still panicking and trying to sort out the record hospitalizations that are happening now as a result of this current wave,” chair and CEO Peter Grenville Schoch said.

The company doesn’t anticipate new big government orders until next May and August.