Fenner reports growth in year to August

ERJ staff report (DS)

London -- Fenner PLC reported strong growth in its preliminary results for the year ended 31 August 2010.

Revenue increased by 11 percent to £552.5m (euro 649 million) (2009 £499.4m) with demand levels gaining momentum as the year progressed and a marked improvement in the second half of the year. Underlying operating profit improved accordingly to £57.0m (euro 70 million) (2009 £41.3m). No exceptional items were recorded during the year (2009 £17.4m) which, when combined with the improved trading result, generated a significant increase in operating profit to £49.3m (2009 £17.1m).

The Fenner Group consists of two Divisions; the Conveyor Belting ("CB") Division and the Advanced Engineered Products ("AEP") Division.

Fenner said, “The Conveyor Belting Division, which was largely unaffected by the economic downturn, has continued to grow at a healthy rate. The energy driven demand for thermal coal underpinned revenue growth and some recovery has been seen in industrial segments. Our global service network has continued to expand both organically and by acquisition. Belt Service Srl, a small service operation based in Italy, was acquired in September 2009 and has now been successfully integrated into our Dunlop business. We continue to pursue opportunities for further expansion in our service businesses through new start-ups and acquisitions.”

In terms of its AEP group, the company said, “There is general agreement that inventory has been removed from every link of the supply chain over the last 18 months. It is now apparent that many OEM customers and channel partners plan to rely upon sophisticated and responsive supply chains to avoid replacing that inventory. The AEP businesses have already benefited from this trend, winning market share from weaker competitors in the face of extreme volatility in customer demand patterns, signing long term supply agreements with major OEM customers and speeding up transactions through on-line, paperless transactions with major channel partners.”

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Press release from Fenner