AVA raises A$7M from Hale Capital as revenue slips to $28.8M
What's the deal? The Ava GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, listed as AVA Risk Group, has secured A$7 million (≈$5 million) in strategic funding from Hale CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → through convertible loan notes. Attached warrants could raise a further $5.6 million if exercised. The Australian security technology firm reported the raise alongside its full-year results in August.
The numbers: AVA posted FY2026 revenue and other income of $28.8 million, down $2.9 million from $31.7 million a year earlier, blaming key project orders postponed into FY2027. Underlying EBITDA fell to $0.1 million from $2.1 million, though its loss after tax narrowed to $3.2 million from $6.5 million.
Why now? The convertible loan notes give AVA capital as it chases expansion in the US market, where full-year order intake reached $6.2 million, driven by corrections and government security sectors. Gross margin held steady at 63%.
The hire: The company appointed Bryant Henson as group chief executive officer, effective 24 August 2026. Henson brings experience leading international technology businesses across defence, aerospace, government, and critical infrastructure.
What's the endgame? AVA sells perimeter intrusion detection and fibre sensing systems. During the year it completed detection trials at Canberra and Cairns airports, fulfilled a $2.7 million pipeline contract in India, and won a five-year place on the Australian Department of Home Affairs Border Protection Technologies Panel from 1 July 2026.
The signal: The Hale-led raise is a quick re-injection of capital for a company managing thin earnings and delayed orders. With margins guided at 60% to 64% for FY2027, AVA is betting that its US push and government contract wins can convert a healthy order pipeline into recovering revenue.
Read more: kalkinemedia.com
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