Chains manufacturer Renold in line with expectations for half year

Industrial chain and related power transmission products group Renold said trading is in line with expectations, ahead of releasing its interim results next month.

The Manchester group released a period-end trading update for the six months to September 30.

It revealed that group revenues in the period grew by 4.5% on an underlying basis, and by 6.4% compared with the first half of the prior year.

Order intake in the period grew by 1.7% on an underlying basis, or 7.4% adjusted, to exclude the large multi-year order from the previous year for its UK couplings division.

Orders were 3.4% ahead of revenue for the period.

The chain division is making good progress in recovering from the specific issues which affected performance in the prior year, the group said.

The rate of raw material price increases has moderated in most geographies, and Renold has had success in passing these through to customers, resulting in margin recovery.

Output from the Einbeck, Germany facility has been stronger in the period and is supporting improvement in levels of customer service.

As expected, revenue for the torque transmission division reflected strong growth in the US markets.

This growth was partially off-set by lower revenue in UK couplings as a result of the phasing of the large multi-year contract.

The group said it remains on track to deliver a result for the full year in line with the board’s expectations.

Chief executive Robert Purcell said today: “It is pleasing to see that we have made good progress in addressing the short-term issues encountered during the previous year.

“The strategic plan continues to improve the underlying business and the impact is starting to become visible in the trading results.”