Protective equipment maker Ansell is preparing to play both sides of Trump.
Chief executive Magnus Nicolin said there was "a certain amount of optimism" setting in among manufacturing and industrial customers in the United States, Ansell's biggest market.
"We have seen increased demand in the US," he told The Australian Financial Review.
"There has been an increase in industrial consumables [orders] as a number of plants are increasing output or starting up."
However Mr Nicolin said the company was also planning for possible risks that newly elected US President Donald Trump "goes to far and engages in a trade war".
Mr Nicolin said "extreme solutions" such as new duties on imports to the US designed to boost local manufacturing were unlikely given they would need to pass the Congress and the Senate, but nonetheless Ansell was closely monitoring the situation.
The company has a "substantial plant" in Mexico that manufactures industrial and medical protective equipment. "There could be some risk if there is a unilateral decision to impose a duty or something like that on imports from Mexico to the US," he said.
Any such impost could threaten revenue growth in the industrial division, which was a strong performer in a mixed set of half-year results.
Net profit rose 0.3 per cent, or 0.7 per cent excluding the affect of currency fluctuations, to $US69.8 million in the six months ended December 31.
Sales fell 1.1 per cent to $US775.8 million, dragged down by the divestment of Onguard, a footwear business it sold in May 2016, which contributed first-half sales of $US13.1 million last year.
Ansell shares slumped 5.5 per cent to $20.91 just after 10am AEDT, before recovering slightly to be down 2.4 per cent just after midday.
Mr Nicolin said the fall was an "overreaction" due to warnings that rising raw material costs would drag down the second half results.
Guidance for full-year earnings per share of $US1.00 ($1.30) to $US1.12, which compares to earnings per share of $US1.05 in 2015-16 was maintained.
The company is grappling with higher natural latex prices due to poor weather in Thailand where the bulk of the world's supply is grown and higher costs for nitrile, a synthetic rubber, due to supply chain interruptions.
The two inputs make up about 37 per cent of Ansell's costs from six main raw materials. The company will raise some of its product prices, but the benefit of that will not flow until 2017-18.
Among its four divisions Ansell's condom division delivered the highest revenue growth of 4.3 per cent due to the popularity of the SKYN range of condoms and lubricants, and growth in emerging markets.
Mr Nicolin said the strong performance would boost the chance Ansell receives a strong price in a sale process being run by Goldman Sachs.
Mr Nicolin said more than four potential buyers, both financial (including private equity) and strategic (consumer goods companies with strong links into drug store networks), had recently heard management presentations. The process will hopefully be wrapped up by June, he said.
"[The improved performance] makes it more attractive and more valuable but we always felt that this was a very valuable business with a lot of interesting characteristics, such high exposure to emerging markets, especially in China, Brazil and even Africa," Mr Nicolin said.
