Israeli defense company Ashot Ashkelon Industries Ltd. (TASE:ASHO), which is controlled by the FIMI Opportunity Funds, saw its share price rise 5.36% today after announcing orders worth NIS 100 million from Israel's Ministry of Defense. The orders are for rehabilitating, repairing and supplying systems (transmissions, suspensions and drives) for Merkava tanks and the Namer armored personnel carriers (APCs).
The latest increase in the stock comes after Ashot Ashkelon's share price has doubled in the past year, giving a market cap of NIS 1.2 billion. In the past three years, the share price has risen over 250%.
Ashot Ashkelon, managed by CEO Eli Damari and chairman Ishay Davidi (FIMI founder and CEO), manufactures drive systems, transmissions and assemblies for armored vehicles and military and civil aviation. Founded in 1967, the company has 500 employees in its offices and main factory in Ashkelon as well as in the US.
Ashot Ashkelon ended 2024 with a market cap of NIS 1.1 billion, more than double its market cap in 2022, when FIMI completed acquisition of a controlling stake from Elbit Systems. FIMI's stake in the company is currently worth almost NIS 970 million - an almost 3.5 times return on its investment in just three years. Elbit Systems inherited control of Ashot when it purchased Israel Military Industries from the state in 2018. Its sale to FIMI has turned out to be a very successful move for the investment fund.
Revenue rose 20% in 2024
Ashot Ashkelon has continued to grow during a period of war in Israel and an arms race in Europe. In December, it received a previous order from the Ministry of Defense worth NIS 146 million, also for the supply of transmissions for IDF armored vehicles.
However, part of its activity is also commercial. Last March, Ashot reported a framework agreement with an existing US customer in the aviation sector to supply systems for Airbus 350A aircraft.
Ashot ended last year with a 20% growth in revenue to NIS 394 million, mainly due to a rise in sales in the military sector due to the war in Israel, although there was also an increase in revenue in the aviation sector. Ashot's net profit jumped by 50% in 2024 to NIS 48.7 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on April 9, 2025.
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