SMEs in the X-ray

Egm X-rayed: Racing Force ordered riot helmets from the Netherlands

Not only equipment for pilots. The company based in Ronco Scrivia (Genoa) also produces for the defence and security sectors. In 2025 revenues up 11.4%

by Valeria Novellini

13 February 2026

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5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Numbers
Strong revenue growth also for 'non-technical' products
Very low debt despite strong investments

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

The 'dual listing' of Kaleon on the Euronext Growth markets of Milan and Paris made headlines at the end of 2025, but well before that there was her: Racing Force Group, whose listing in Paris took place at the end of September 2022 after its debut in Milan in November 2021. Today, Racing Force continues to produce technical equipment for riders (Omp brand), helmets (Bell Helmets), as well as non-technical clothing under the Racing Spirit brand and, from mid-2025, also Riot anti-riot helmets under the Hps (High Protection Systems) brand, engineered and produced in Bahrain. Furthermore, in July 2025, the joint venture (51% Racing Force, 49% the Bahrain group Al Kamel Systems) Zeronoise Communications Services Wii, operating in radio communication services, was established.

The numbers

Racing Force's core business still remains Driver's Equipment. In 2025, the group saw revenues rise by 11.4% to €73.1 million (+12.3% at constant exchange rates), with Driver's Equipment in particular increasing by 13.8% to €55 million (75% of total turnover), while racing car components (seats, seat belts, steering wheels, roll bars) fell by 4.4% to €12.3 million as a result of the slowdown in the production programmes of some major car manufacturers.

Other activities contributed a 30.6% increase in turnover to EUR 5.8 million, of which EUR 0.5 million related to the joint venture Zeronoise Communication Services Wii; sales of the Racing Spirit clothing brand were good (+22.1%) and there was also a first contribution from the multi-year order (in cooperation with Condor Arnhem Bv) for Hps riot shields for the Dutch Ministry of Justice. Not considering the joint venture, the group's turnover would still have risen by 10.6% (+11.5% at constant exchange rates). Among other things, Zeronoise manufactures the Skier's Eye (a mini video camera incorporated into helmets for alpine skiing competitions and extendable to other sports) and Racing Force intends to integrate it into riot helmets as well.

Sales in the Emea area rose by 14.6% to 49.1 million (67% of the total) and those in the Americas by 8.4% to 16.5 million, while in the Apac area they stood at 7.5 million (-1.2%), mainly due to the postponement of purchases by a leading dealer in Australia. The driving force behind the turnover in the Emea area and in the Americas was mainly determined by the adoption of new homologation standards for helmets (by Fia and Snell Foundation, respectively). It should be remembered that Fia (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) homologated helmets, with, among other things, high fire resistance characteristics, are required for most European and international motor races, while Snell homologated helmets are mostly used in the United States for national races and are more focused on impact resistance.

Strong revenue growth also for 'non-technical' products

The turnover generated by dealers, the group's main sales channel, increased by 6.5% to 41.9 million, that by Team & Car Manufacturer by 9.9% to 16.5 million and that by other channels jumped by 34.4% to 12.7 million due to the contribution of the 'non-technical' product lines (Racing Spirit) and the joint venture.

And so Racing Force ended 2025 with an excellent performance in terms of turnover. But what about profit margins? In the first half of 2025, with overall revenue up 4.6% to €39.3 million (it should be noted that the second half of the year was particularly positive, and especially the fourth quarter where the increase was 20.9% to €17.9 million), ebitda increased by 1.5% to €8.27 million, but ebit fell by 3.3% to €6.3 million and net profit by 21.3% to €4.2 million.

Very low debt despite heavy investment

On the other hand, depreciation and amortisation jumped from EUR 1.6 million to EUR 1.9 million as a result of the investments made, and the negative balance of EUR 985,000 in financial management in the first half of 2025 was almost entirely determined (for EUR 800,000) by foreign exchange charges related to the revaluation of the euro against the US dollar and the Bahraini dinar. As at 30/6/2025, net financial debt amounted to EUR 3.5 million (net financial position essentially balanced at the end of 2024), however, due to the payment of a dividend of EUR 2.5 million, in addition to investments of EUR 6.8 million. However, the Debt/Equity ratio was negligible, as equity at the end of the semester amounted to an impressive EUR 60.2m.

On 28 October 2025, the group's new headquarters in Ronco Scrivia (Genoa) was inaugurated. It includes a significantly expanded research and development centre and warehouse, as well as a showroom at the entrance displaying all the product lines of the group's brands and an exclusive collection of historic racing memorabilia on the upper floor. As 50% of Racing Force employees reside in the Scrivia Valley, the headquarters, also designed with sustainability criteria (it has photovoltaic panels), is easily accessible.

Since sales in the second half of the group were driven by Bell helmets and Omp brand technical apparel (both high-margin), ebitda development should also have been positive for the whole of 2025; the incidence of depreciation and amortisation remains high, and obviously an unfavourable exchange rate situation persists (although the higher increase in sales in the Emea region compared to the rest of the world should have led to less exchange rate pressure). Thanks to the operating cash flow in the second half of the year, the debt level should have decreased, and the significant investment plan has been completed by the end of 2025.

In any case, Racing Force certainly ended 2025 in profit and there is no reason why the shareholder remuneration policy should not be continued. In 2024, the dividend was EUR 0.09 per share and the pay-out was 42.5% on the consolidated net profit (since the net profit of the parent company amounted to EUR 2.46 million, recourse was made to the retained earnings reserve, to which EUR 2.42 million of the parent company's profit was allocated in any case).

Good potential for helmets aimed at the defence sector

Racing Force's management is optimistic about 2026 and has stated that order intake in recent months has been particularly positive (as can already be seen in the results for the fourth quarter of 2025); in February 2026 the High Protection Systems brand will be presented at the international events World Defense Show (in Riyadh) and Enforce Tac (in Nuremberg).

This is a very promising product line, but Racing Force's core business remains technical equipment, and even in 2026 as many as 15 Formula One World Championship drivers will use Bell Racing helmets (among them Andrea Kimi Antonelli and George Russell of the Mercedes-Amg Petronas team).

Racing Force does not neglect ESG aspects (this was seen in the construction of the new headquarters) and from 2021 will draw up a sustainability report as well as having a code of ethics.

The company shows a very high free float (not only by Euronext Growth Milan standards), amounting to around 50% of the share capital; but despite the dual listing, trading remains low and, given the size assumed by the group, Racing Force would be a 'natural candidate' for translisting at Euronext Milan (perhaps the Star segment), an operation already announced at the beginning of 2026 by Intred and Kruso Kapital.