Dull business but cracking chart, great dividend and ad hoc takeover rumours. I'm happy to settle for that kind of dull!

FENR Fenner

So to sum up a whole raft of Broker
support now come in after results
announcement....

A full list of them (brokers) now issuing notes........

25 Apr Fenner PLC FENR Canaccord Genuity Buy 449.10 542.00 562.00 Reiterates

25 Apr Fenner PLC FENR Numis Buy 449.10 560.00 560.00 Reiterates

25 Apr Fenner PLC FENR Jefferies International Buy 449.10 565.00 565.00 Reiterates

25 Apr Fenner PLC FENR Westhouse Securities Buy 449.10 550.00 550.00 Retains

25 Apr Fenner PLC FENR Investec Buy 449.10 500.00 500.00 Retains

FENR FENNER

Analyst comment...

Fenner plc (FENR)08:52 ET Apr 25, 2012
Chief Pulse Comment by Mark S Abrahams

"Trading was very strong in the first half as growth drivers in our core businesses remained positive, underpinned by continuing buoyant demand from mineral extraction and energy sectors," said chairman of Fenner Mark Abrahams. "The fundamentals on which our strategy is based remain strong and the quality of our earnings continues to improve. more
The group has decided to increase its interim dividend by 32 percent to 3.5 pence per share on the back of the strong financial performance. "Trading was very strong in the first half as growth drivers in our core businesses remained positive, underpinned by continuing buoyant demand from mineral extraction and energy sectors," said chairman of Fenner Mark Abrahams. "The fundamentals on which our strategy is based remain strong and the quality of our earnings continues to improve. "Notwithstanding the influence of the current macro economic environment on some of our markets, our order book remains healthy, we are trading in accordance with expectations and we remain confident in our ability to continue to make progress in the second half of the year."

FENNER FENR

A Belting Growth Opportunity
By

Roland HeadEmail .Published in Investing on 25 April 2012

Mining demand drives a 55% increase in profits for this UK manufacturer.

On the day that the UK officially slips back into recession, it is reassuring to know that we still have some quality manufacturing businesses that are delivering strong growth and rising profits.

A real belter
A case in point is Fenner (LSE: FENR), which published its half-year results today, revealing revenues of £412m -- up 24% on last year -- and operating profits of £50.2m, a 55% increase on the same period last year.

Over the last five years, Fenner's annual revenues have risen from £380m to £718.3m, and they are set to top £800m this year. During that time, its share price has doubled -- although anyone who bought in at the height of the slump in 2009 will now be sitting on a ten-bagger!

Belts and seals
Fenner is a manufacturing business with two main divisions. The first of these is its Engineered Conveyor Solutions, which makes conveyor belts for coal mines and other industrial applications. Demand is strong from the global mining industry and Fenner's ECS division delivered a 25% increase in revenue and a 62% increase in underlying operating profit over the last six months.

Fenner's other division, Advanced Engineered Products, makes products such as specialist hydraulic seals, which it sells to the oil, gas, mining and agricultural industries. Revenues for this division rose by 20% over the first half, delivering a 23% rise in underlying operating profit.

More growth
Despite its earnings increasing at a slower rate to last year, Fenner has a PEG ratio of 0.46 based on the last six month's earnings, up from 0.2 last year. A PEG below one suggests a strong bias to growth, and I believe that Fenner's strong growth will continue for at least one more year, albeit at a diminishing rate.

Fenner has a rolling 12-month net debt to EBITDA ratio of 1.0, down from 1.3 at the end of 2011. Although this reduction is due to rising earnings, not falling debts, its net debt of £126m is not too burdensome and should be manageable even if earnings growth tails off.

Fenner isn't an income share, but the company has increased dividends steadily in recent years and announced a 32% increase in the interim dividend for the first half of the year, putting it in line to deliver a total yield of 2.3% for the year at today's share price.

More to come?
Fenner reminds me a little of Aggreko (LSE: AGK). It's a successful business that has delivered remarkable growth over a number of years. Like Aggreko, Fenner's current rate of growth cannot be maintained forever and when it eventually moderates, the shares are likely to be re-rated somewhat.

Despite this, I think that Fenner will continue to deliver strong growth for the next year or two at least, and would make a good investment for anyone looking for a maturing growth play that will benefit from strong global demand for commodities.

Sign up for a 30-day free trial to Motley Fool Share Advisor and get immediate access to all of our share recommendations and in-depth analysis.

More from Roland Head:

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/investing/2012/04/25/a-belting-growth-opportunity.aspx?source=ufwflwlnk0000001

Another upgrade just in.....

BRIEF-RESEARCH ALERT-Canaccord genuity raises Fenner target price
25 Apr 2012 - 11:43

April 25 (Reuters) - Fenner PLC :

* Canaccord genuity raises Fenner Plc target price to 562P from 542P;

rating buy



For a summary of rating actions and price target changes on European companies:

Reuters Eikon users, click on [RCH/EUROPE]

Reuters 3000Xtra users, double-click [RCH/EUROPE]

Reuters Station users, click .1580 ((Bangalore Equities Newsdesk +91 80 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780))

View from the FT:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/265144be-8ee6-11e1-ab32-00144feab49a.html#axzz1t7iDW200

Fenner

Broker Views
Date Broker Recommendation Price Old target price New target price Notes

26 Apr Liberum Capital Buy 443.00 455.00 550.00 Reiterates
26 Apr Panmure Gordon Buy 443.00 540.00 555.00 Reiterates

Director maiden purchase...

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204261031591270C

Another bigger director buy....

http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201204261453491667C

Fenner plc (FENR)Apr 28, 2012Chief Pulse Comment by Mark S Abrahams


"Trading was very strong in the first half as growth drivers in our core businesses remained positive, underpinned by continuing buoyant demand from mineral extraction and energy sectors," said chairman of Fenner Mark Abrahams. more
The group has decided to increase its interim dividend by 32 percent to 3.5 pence per share on the back of the strong financial performance. "Trading was very strong in the first half as growth drivers in our core businesses remained positive, underpinned by continuing buoyant demand from mineral extraction and energy sectors," said chairman of Fenner Mark Abrahams

Broker upgrade (late yesterday)......

Fenner FTSE 250 Industrial Buy 565 455.1 24.1% Je

SP Target 565p 24.1% upside

Tipped in the Telegraph....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/9236895/Questor-share-tip-End-of-large-scale-mining-mergers-is-good-for-Fenner.html

Canaccord backs Fenner
01/05/2012

Michael O'Brien, analyst at Canaccord, has reiterated his 'buy' recommendation on conveyor belt and reinforced polymer product maker Fenner (FENR.L) having met the company's management after last week's publication of robust interim results.

The meeting appears to have gone well: 'Simply put, we believe Fenner is in great shape. Returns are at an all-time high and we forecast will rise further as capacity utilisation is further improved,' O'Brien said.

He added that in his view the current share price misunderstands the group's positioning, as although the shale gas boom will hit coal consumption (an important stream of revenue for the group) in the US, domestic consumption will simply shift to exports. Furthermore, the group's seals division has exposure to the shale gas industry.

O'Brien said he was surprised that the share price hadn't gained more following the interim results. 'We believe continued appreciation of the increasing value add of the Fenner proposition alongside continued improving returns will further drive the price,' he concluded.

Shares in the group closed at 452.07p on Monday, up 4.67p or 1.04%.

http://www.citywire.co.uk/money/the-expert-view-aberdeen-asset-management-fenner-and-creston/a585674?ref=citywire-money-picture-galleries-list#i=5

FENR FENNER

Broker updates.....

Fenner PLC

FORECASTS 2012 2013
Date Rec Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Arden Partners
01-05-12 BUY 108.00 38.14 10.50 122.00 42.96 12.00
Canaccord Genuity Ltd
30-04-12 BUY 98.00 35.00 9.50 108.00 38.30 10.50
Panmure Gordon
30-04-12 BUY 101.00 36.80 10.50 117.00 41.40 12.60

New Broker note out this morning..

02 May Fenner PLC FENR Westhouse Securities Buy 447.45 550.00 550.00

550p SP target

Cannot understand why this is falling after good results and all the broker recommendations!

StockMarketWire.com
Fenner reports continued solid progress since the beginning of March with revenue and earnings in line with forecasts.

And it says that overall, recent trading supports its confidence in meeting its expectations for the full year.

The group said its engineered conveyor solutions division continued to operate at high levels of factory utilisation and operating margins were in line with previous run rates.

And its advanced engineered products division has continued to perform in line with expectations, experiencing seasonally higher operating margins as the progresses through its second half period.

Why is this tanking? Am I missing something or am I just thick? Above seems ok to me not heart stoppingly brilliant but ok!

Makes the divi slightly more attractive! (Ex-divi 25th July '12 - 3.5p)

StockMarketWire.com
Fenner's wholly owned subsidiary, Fenner Norway, has exchanged contracts for Norwegian Seals, a privately-owned group of companies with operations in Norway and the UK.

Norwegian Seals manufactures and distributes performance critical seals into the oil and gas market, with particular emphasis on subsea, well head and down hole applications.

Fenner says this strategic acquisition will allow CDI Seals, part of Fenner's AEP division, to exploit the North Sea market and enhance Norwegian Seals' ability, as part of the Fenner group, to build its growing industry reputation and presence.

The audited value of the gross assets being acquired was NKr47.4m as at 31 December.

The transaction is expected to complete in early September 2012.

"Norwegian Seals" - sounds like a crack military outfit! :-)