Protective gloves and condoms supplier Ansell is building its presence in the oil and gas sector but says demand for specialised military products has weakened.
Ansell says the oil and gas sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and is expanding everywhere.
Chief executive Magnus Nicolin on Monday said Ansell now had 10 types of glove in its range catering specifically for the oil and gas sector, whereas 18 months ago it had none.
"We now have a full range to service that industry and are starting to dedicate sales resources uniquely for the oil and gas industry to make sure that we can capture that opportunity," Mr Nicolin said in a market briefing.
However, demand for specialised military gloves was weaker as customers such as the US and Australia spent less, following troop withdrawals.
Mr Nicolin also said Ansell had developed a new range of industrial gloves called Edge for emerging markets such as China, Russia, Mexico and Brazil.
The Edge gloves did not offer the same capabilities as Ansell's HyFlex range but were cheaper.
Ansell reported a net profit of $US65.6 million ($A74.25 million) for the six months to December 31, up nearly 15 per cent from $US57.1 million a year ago.
Sales lifted 8.7 per cent to $US708.3 million, largely on the back of recent acquisitions.
Ansell sold more medical, industrial and specialty products, but condom sales were weaker.
New product sales - products less than three years old - rose 20 per cent.
Mr Nicolin described the result as pretty solid and said the company had good momentum.
He said the global economic environment was mixed: North America and the eurozone were slowly strengthening; there was weakness in emerging markets such as Russia, Turkey and Brazil; and Australia had "not looked too pretty".
Ansell's medical business unit had been the star performer, achieving its strongest half in six years, he added.
Sales and earnings from surgical and examination gloves lifted as the medical sector continued to move away from natural latex products towards synthetics.
But the condoms business generated lower sales and earnings as a result of lower tender and private label sales, distributor destocking in Europe and currency impacts.
Shares in Ansell dropped 98 cents, or 5.1 per cent, to $18.31.
Share
