Ashot Ashkelon Industries Ltd. (TASE:ASHO), which is controlled by the FIMI Opportunity Funds, has received a NIS 146 million order from Israel's Ministry of Defense Procurement Administration for the manufacture and supply 1,200 horsepower transmissions. At the end of the third quarter of 2024, Ashot Ashkelon's order backlog was worth NIS 1.662 billion, with the Ministry of Defense instructing the company's management to prepare for a significant rise in activities and supply in the coming years.
The new order has sent Ashot's share price sharply higher on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. FIMI, recognized the opportunity in Ashot at the right moment. Ashot Ashkelon, which was part of government-owned Israel Military Industries (IMI), was sold to Elbit Systems as part of the privatization in 2018. In 2022, Elbit sold its 85% holdings in Ashot to FIMI for almost NIS 300 million. Now, two and a half years later, FIMI holds a similar stake (84%), with the market value of the shares today (according to their TASE price) worth over NIS 1 billion.
500 employees in Israel and the US
Ashot Ashkelon was founded in 1967 and has been traded in the TASE since 1992. The company has 500 employees in Israel and the US and manufactures jet engine shafts, transmissions, gears and gearboxes, landing gear components and tungsten products for the aerospace and defense industries including for armored vehicles and tanks like the Merkava and Namer.
In 2011, Ashot expanded its operations in the US market, after acquiring Reliance Gear, located in Illinois. Reliance Gear specializes in the production of gear systems and advanced components. In 2024, the company expanded its operations, capabilities, and product range through the acquisition of EDC, an Israeli multidisciplinary company providing solutions for development, serial production, and maintenance services to customers in Israel and around the world, operating in both the military and civilian sectors. The company provides its customers, primarily the Ministry of Defense, with the sophisticated systems it has developed.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 18, 2024.
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