Invensys puts Brook Crompton up for sale

Invensys has announced that it is looking for buyers for its Brook Crompton motors business, and for its Air Systems division, whose principal operation is the Compair compressor business. Invensys chief executive Allen Yurko says that these operations "clearly do not fit our automation and controls portfolio" and they have therefore been transferred to the company`s Disposal group.

Yurko describes the two planned disposals as "small" and expects them to raise around £500m. He made no mention of Eurotherm, which some observers have been speculating may also be sold.

Yurko was speaking as Invensys revealed a 19% fall in operating profits from £1.15bn to £934m, on a turnover down from £9bn to £7.86bn, for the year to the end of March. He announced that a further 3,500 jobs would go this year, mainly in the US, where the controls business has been hit badly by the downturn in the economy. The latest cutbacks are in addition to the 5,500 jobs culled in the past year - equivalent to 6% of the total workforce. Invensys now has £3.2bn of debt.

Yurko reported that the automation division achieved a sales growth of 6% last year, to reach £1.727m. He was pleased to see "a nice turnaround" in the division in the second half of the financial year. An organic growth rate of 2% for the division was led by Invensys` systems and services businesses, including baggage automation and rail systems. The division`s new management team plans to focus increasingly on businesses with a high service and systems content.

Brook Crompton, the UK`s largest motor-maker, has manufacturing facilities in five countries and employs around 4,000 people. Its origins date back to 1879 when Colonel Crompton set up his DC motors business. Until 1993, it was part of Hawker Siddeley which was bought by BTR which, in turn, merged with Siebe to form Invensys. Brook Compton`s brands include Brook Motors, Crompton Parkinson, Newman, Electrodrives, and Bull Electric. It owns motor companies in Poland and China.

CompAir, which claims to be one of the world`s top three compressor manufacturers, employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. It has manufacturing operations in the UK, North America, continental Europe, and China.