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

Acquisition of Mandals AS & Mandals Technology AS ("Mandals")

Fenner is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, Fenner Norway AS, has today exchanged contracts to purchase 100% of the share capital of Mandals, a privately owned group of companies based in Norway and Sweden.

Mandals is a manufacturer of innovative lay flat and specialty hoses for use in demanding applications and of circular looms for the manufacture of the woven fabric used in the production of hoses. It is an acknowledged market leader in its industry, with products sold around the world. The acquisition builds on the expertise of Fenner's Advanced Engineered Products Division ("AEP"), providing performance critical applications to the agricultural, infrastructure, potable water and oil and gas markets.

The audited value of the gross assets being acquired was NOK 91.3m (GBP 9.9m) as at 31 December 2011. The transaction is expected to complete in early September 2012.

Nick Hobson, CEO of Fenner PLC, commented:
"Mandals is a leader in an area of reinforced polymer technology which complements our existing operations, particularly James Dawson. In addition, the end markets served by Mandals enjoy attractive, long term growth characteristics which will support Fenner's strategic growth objectives".

- ends -

FENR looks like an inverse head and shoulders pattern forming on the chart. Anyway Ive gone long and added as the lower indicators are pointing to a bounce aswel. and the fundys look fairly solid.

FENNER

Brokers positive on the stock...

Forward P/E of just over 9 to 2013
total madness far too cheap.

Fenner PLC

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

Numis Securities Ltd
05-09-12 BUY 102.00 36.20 10.50 113.50 40.40 11.50
Arden Partners
04-09-12 BUY 104.00 36.65 10.50 114.00 39.99 12.00
N+1 Brewin
04-09-12 BUY 100.50 35.50 10.50 107.50 37.50 11.60
Panmure Gordon
03-09-12 BUY 99.40 36.10 10.50 106.00 37.30 11.10
Peel Hunt
31-08-12 BUY 101.96 35.96 8.80 104.50 36.99 9.70
Investec Securities
17-08-12 HOLD 104.40 36.80 10.50 109.60 38.10 11.60
Fairfax IS
12-07-12 BUY 100.00 35.20 10.50 113.20 39.30 12.50
FinnCap
12-07-12 BUY 101.10 35.90 10.50 108.50 38.10 11.00
Canaccord Genuity Ltd
12-07-12 BUY 100.00 35.70 9.50 108.00 38.30 10.50
Westhouse Securities
24-05-12 BUY 92.70 36.30 10.50 106.80 41.30 12.60

2012 2013
Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax (£) EPS (p) DPS (p)

Consensus 101.16 36.08 10.22 109.22 38.60 11.33
1 Month Change 0.31 0.05 0.01 -0.43 -0.23 -0.02
3 Month Change 0.63 -0.05 0.02 -3.54 -1.59 -0.39


GROWTH
2011 (A) 2012 (E) 2013 (E)

Norm. EPS 72.90% 43.93% 6.96%
DPS 9.09% 41.90% 10.92%

INVESTMENT RATIOS
2011 (A) 2012 (E) 2013 (E)

EBITDA £108.90m £136.12m £143.67m
EBIT £81.60m £108.63m £116.31m
Dividend Yield 2.01% 2.85% 3.16%
Dividend Cover 3.48x 3.53x 3.41x
PER 14.32x 9.95x 9.30x
PEG 0.20f 0.23f 1.34f
Net Asset Value PS 37.48p p p

Numis out with a Buy note this morning..

07 Sep Fenner PLC FENR Numis Buy 360.40 359.00 500.00 500.00 Reiterates

500p SP Target.

Solid trading statement this morning.

Historical piece from the summer
but I believe it still stands....

Why Fenner is still a solid buy for the long run By Phil Oakley Jul 12, 2012


http://www.moneyweek.com/investment-advice/share-tips/engineering-company-fenner-shares-a-solid-long-term-buy-22800

Latest broker snap.....

10 Sep Fenner PLC FENR Canaccord Genuity Buy 362.10 360.50 563.00 563.00 Reiterates

563p SP target.

StockMarketWire.com
Fenner subsidiary Fenner Dunlop Australia has exchanged contracts to acquire Australian Conveyor Engineering, a privately owned group of companies based in Somersby, New South Wales.

The audited value of the gross assets being acquired was A$16.0m as at 30 June.

The transaction is expected to complete at the end of November.

ACE specialises in supplying engineered conveyor solutions for the design, manufacture and installation of high capacity conveyor systems for both surface and underground mining, with the capability to take projects from the initial concept to the commissioned conveyor system.

The acquisition furthers Fenner Dunlop's strategy of being the supplier of choice for engineered conveyor solutions in Australia, offering mining customers integrated solutions for improving the safety and total cost of materials handling.

Fenner chief executive Nicholas Hobson said "We are passionate about making conveying safe, more reliable and cost effective.

"This is a significant development for the Fenner Dunlop Engineered Conveyor Solutions offering in Australia, through which we are growing by strengthening our capabilities to effectively manage the lifetime cost of our customers' conveyors throughout the business cycle.

"This acquisition consolidates Fenner Dunlop's position as the leading supplier of conveyor products and services to the Australian markets and complements the acquisition in North America of the Allison Custom Fabrication business."

Final Results

Highlights

· Record financial performance

- Revenue up 16% to £830.6m
- Underlying operating profit1 up 30% to £118.8m; operating profit up 30% to £107.6m
- Underlying profit before taxation2 up 30% to £103.9m; profit before taxation up 27% to £88.6m
- Underlying earnings per share2 up 28% to 36.1p; basic earnings per share up 23% to 30.3p
- Strong free cash flow of £63.0m (2011: £53.7m)
- ROCE increased to 24% (2011: 20%)

· Dividend per share increased by 31% to 10.5p per share, in recognition of increased quality of earnings and confidence in the future

· Engineered Conveyor Solutions ("ECS") underlying operating profit1 increased by 38% to £84.4m on revenues up 16% to £593.4m

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 towards the end of the year but coal stockpiles have been reducing for several months

· Advanced Engineered Products ("AEP") underlying operating profit1 and revenues both increased by 14% to £43.6m and £237.2m respectively

Growth underpinned by strong demand from the oil and gas sector and investment to broaden geographic coverage; some small pockets of destocking

· Strategic initiatives to create a strong, growing and resilient Group progressed well, supported by organic and acquisitive investment

· Confident in further opportunities for long-term value creation

FENR Fenner, far better results than I was expecting. Gone in and bought some this morning, expecting broker upgrades.

You in long here Skinny?.

As of this morning @350.88 having missed 348 by a requote.

The -------ers.

News is a bit slow coming through from brokers but sniffed this out..........

CATEGORY: NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS SECTOR: INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING
Fenner lifts dividend by nearly a third
Wed 07 Nov 2012

FENR - Fenner
- 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.

Comment from Investors Chronicle:

Conveyor belt specialist Fenner ( FENR ) has announced a record financial performance in the year to August with revenues up 15 per cent to £830.6m and pre-tax profit up 27 per cent to £88.6m. The dividend is hiked by 30 per cent too. Buy.

FENR FENNER


07 Nov Fenner PLC FENR Numis Buy 364.60 350.00 435.00 435.00 Reiterates

435p SP Target

.... very nice.

FENR FENNER

07 Nov Fenner PLC FENR Panmure Gordon Buy 363.85 350.00 465.00 465.00 Reiterates

465p SP Target.

FT today

November 7, 2012 9:24 am
Fenner gives engineering sector rare boost
By Mark Wembridge
Fenner provided a rare piece of positive news among the UK’s engineering companies, after the maker of industrial conveyor belts reported a jump in full-year pre-tax profit.
The Yorkshire-based engineer, which specialises in the supply of belting for mining and heavy industries, on Wednesday reported pre-tax profit up 27 per cent to £88.6m in the year to August 31, buoyed by strong demand levels from the energy and mining sectors.
More

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The news prompted Fenner to boost its full-year dividend by almost one-third to 10.5p, which the group said was “in recognition of increased quality of earnings and confidence in the future”.
The solid figures are in contrast to a recent series of profit warnings from industrially-focused UK companies, with Severfield-Rowen, GKN, Morgan Crucible, Volex and Cookson all downgrading full-year earnings expectations.
Fenner’s revenues rose 16 per cent year-on-year to £830.6m, driven by buoyant demand for coal and iron ore extraction at the start of the financial year. However, that trend slowed in the second half, especially in the US market.
“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,” said Mark Abrahams, chairman.
The group’s engineered conveyor solutions division overcame weakness in the construction sector to report a 16 per cent increase in revenues to £593m, boosted by a solid performance in Europe.
However, the division was hurt by the slowdown in US demand for coal, which it blamed on “the extremely mild winter and uneconomical pricing of natural gas”.
Fenner’s advanced engineered products unit revenues rose 14 per cent to £237.2m, underpinned by strong demand from the oil and gas sector, although the division is facing concerns of destocking among some customers.
“Fenner’s quality of earnings has improved greatly in recent years and this means that the group is more resilient. There are some areas of softness and the current year will undoubtedly be volatile (a cold US winter will help) but the long-term attraction of Fenner remains,” said Jon Lienard, analyst at N+1 Singer.
Diluted earnings per share rose from 24.4p to 30.2p, and Fenner shares increased 2.5 per cent to 358.9p in early trading.

Fenner: Jefferies keeps buy rating and 490p target.

Ex-divi 30th Jan '13 (7p)