Belting performance by Fenner
A STRING of acquisitions and strong performance across all of its territories has helped conveyor belt manufacturer Fenner put out a strong set of results.
The Hessle, near Hull-based group, said that pre-tax profits rose 8% to £36.3m for the year ended August 31 compared to £33.6m for the previous year.
Revenue increased by 15% to £437.8m while operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets and exceptional items jumped 26% to £49.3m.
The group said that buoyant mining in its major markets has helped its conveyor belting division put in a strong performance.
Its advanced engineering products division also traded well with newly acquired businesses helping to penetrate growth markets.
Fenner said it had also benefited from the successful implementation of major strategic growth initiatives around the group, which had expanded product ranges, geographical coverage, routes to market, service offering and market share.
Commenting on the results Colin Cooke, Fenner’s chairman said: “We enter the new year with healthy order books for our CB businesses. Despite the temporary disruption from Hurricane Ike, our AEP businesses started with similar sales levels to the end of last year.
“There has been a limited initial impact on us from the global financial crisis but we are of course alert to the wider economic effects that are generally expected. These are more likely to be seen in industrial markets although the niche nature of our businesses and the diversity of our markets provide additional strength and resilience.”
Mr Cooke said that the energy markets remained buoyant with a positive outlook particularly for coal. However, he added that because the majority of Fenner’s products and services were consumable supplies they were driven by usage rather than the price of commodities.
“Despite the inevitable challenges, we believe we are very strongly placed to out-perform. For the longer term, our business drivers remain highly positive,” Mr Cooke said.
Fenner is considered a world leader in the field of reinforced polymer engineering. Its products include conveyor belting for the mining, power generation and industrial markets, sealing products for the mining, hydraulics and energy industries; and technical textile structures for medical and industrial applications.
