Weak mining sector hits Fenner’s bottom line

Fenner, a supplier conveyor belting to the mining industry, has announced a loss of £5.1 million (US$8 million) in 1H15 on the back of weak demand in its Engineered Conveyor Solutions (ECS) division.

In the Americas, the company “continued to encounter weak market conditions in the USA as its coal mining customers faced falling natural gas prices, decreased coal exports and the impact of a relatively mild winter,” the company said in its half yearly financial report.

Meanwhile, it faced “ongoing pricing pressure in Australia, whilst also experiencing reduced demand for belting products and services as its mining customers looked to reduce their operating costs further in response to continuing weakness in commodity prices. In China, ECS had a satisfactory performance albeit that the market remains intensely competitive.”

Elsewhere, the company failed to achieve its anticipated growth in newer markets, such as the West African mining industry, as the industry suffered from lower commodity prices and the Ebola outbreak

Written by Jonathan Rowland.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/handling/23072015/weak-mining-sector-hits-fenners-bottom-line-2618/