Fenner lifts dividend by nearly a third

Industrial conveyor belt maker Fenner reported a stellar increase in profit and revenue for the year and lifted its dividend payment by 31 per cent.

Profit before taxation rose 27% in the 12 months ended August 31th to £88.6m while underlying pre-tax jumped 30% to £103.9m. Revenue for the year was up 16% to £830.6m. Underlying earnings per share rose 28% to 36.1p.

Fenner said the positive trading conditions for most of the year driven by record levels of coal and iron ore extraction. Some slowing of order intake from the US coal sector was seen towards the end of the year but coal stockpiles have been reducing for several months, it said.

Chairman of the reinforced polymer technology firm Mark Abrahams commented: "We remain mindful of the current global economic uncertainty. Given both anticipated end market trends and the very strong first half last year, we expect our performance to be more heavily weighted to the second half of the current year."

He added: "As a result of our investment programme over recent years, Fenner is a much stronger and more resilient business serving a more diverse customer base. The fundamentals of our core markets underpin healthy, long-term growth, and we continue to be encouraged by the number of identified opportunities for sustained value creation."

Underlining its confidence in future earnings, Fenner is recommending a dividend of 10.5p per share, up 31% from last time.

CJ