Fenner sees better FY results on uptick in orders

(Reuters) - British engineering company Fenner Plc said on Friday it expected the current full-year results to be "comfortably above" its expectations as order intake and customer enquiries improved.

The company said it was also benefiting from an earlier round of job cuts at its bigger business, Engineered Conveyor Solutions (ECS), and there had been some increase in order intake from the coal industry.

Fenner shares, which gained 65 percent in value last year, were up 10.6 percent at 261 pence at 0806 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.

Engineering companies have been struggling as customers in the oil, gas and mining businesses cut orders and waited longer than usual to replace parts in the face of a widespread slump in commodity prices.

To combat the fall in orders, engineering companies that cater to clients in the oil, gas and mining businesses had resorted to cutting jobs. These job cuts along with a weak sterling helped them avoid a sharp fall in profits.

Fenner's statement on Friday indicated a return in orders and customer enquiries. The recent uptick in orders follows the rise in oil prices to above $50 a barrel, after OPEC agreed on Nov. 30 to its first oil output cuts since 2008.

Fenner's ECS unit, which makes conveyor belts for miners and other industrial users, accounted for 56 percent of its latest annual revenue.

(Reporting by Vidya L Nathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Gopakumar Warrier)