Fenner PLC Regulatory News (FENR)

13 July 2016

Fenner PLC("Fenner" or "the Group")

Trading update

Fenner is providing its customary trading update covering the period from 1 March to 12 July 2016.

The trading results for the third quarter have reflected further improvements in line with our plans.

This performance is against the backdrop of our principal markets having shown no recovery and, in some cases, having deteriorated further. In response to these conditions, the Group has succeeded in achieving further benefits from operational efficiencies and market share gains.

Business review

AEP's medical businesses have continued to perform well and the Secant relocation programme is now entering the testing and certification phase. Although the industrial businesses are seeing some fragility in their wider markets, new product initiatives are offsetting these effects.

Whilst the recent small increase in the US rig count, combined with market share gains, is expected to benefit our oil/gas businesses, given lead times, the effect of this is most likely to be felt in the new financial year.

In the Northern Hemisphere, ECS's industrial businesses have remained stable whilst the US coal industry continues to be challenging. The refocussing of our North American business remains on track.

In Australia, ECS's operational improvements have mitigated on-going pricing pressures from customers in the mining industry.

Financing review

Cash flow during the period has reflected normal seasonality and has remained within the range of the Group's expectations. However, due to the recent significant deterioration in the value of sterling against the US dollar, the Group's net debt at the year-end is likely to be above previous expectations, entirely due to currency translation.

The depreciation of sterling will also benefit the translation of the Group's overseas earnings albeit that, given the timing, the impact in the current financial year will be marginal. In any event, the underlying net debt to EBITDA ratio, as measured by the Group's lenders using constant currencies, will not be significantly impacted.

Outlook

The Board expects that the Group will achieve an overall outcome for the financial year ending 31 August 2016 in line with previous expectations, save for the small currency related increase in earnings referenced above.

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Important notice

Certain statements contained herein constitute forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Fenner, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, among others, exchange rates, the commodity markets, general economic conditions and the business environment.

Notes to editors:

Fenner is a world leader in reinforced polymer technology, providing local engineered solutions for performance‐critical applications. The Group operates through two divisions:

Advanced Engineered Products: the AEP division uses advanced polymeric materials and technical expertise to provide high value-added solutions to customers' most challenging engineering problems. Customers are spread across a variety of end‐user segments, including oil & gas, medical, construction, transportation, automation and general industrial. AEP's trading names are recognised globally and include CDI Energy Products, EGC Critical Components, Hallite, AIP Precision Machining, Fenner Precision, Fenner Drives, James Dawson, Mandals, Secant Medical, Charter Medical and Xeridiem.

Engineered Conveyor Solutions: the ECS division, trading under the Fenner Dunlop, Fenner and Dunlop brand names, is a recognised leader in the global conveying market. The division offers a unique, comprehensive suite of products and services, which serve the conveying needs of mining, power generation and bulk handling markets. ECS is managed on the basis of two regional business groupings being ECS Southern Hemisphere (comprising Australia, RSA and China, where the customer base is focused on mining) and ECS Northern Hemisphere (including the Americas and Europe, where there is a larger exposure to industrial customers).