STOCKS NEWS EUROPE-Smartphone demand boosts Laird's results, shares up

Laird (LSE: LRD.L - news) 's shares rise as much as 7.1 percent, topping Britain's mid-cap FTSE 250 index after the electronic-components maker says it will meet full-year expectations on the back of demand from smartphone and consumer markets.

Laird, which supplies parts for Apple Inc (NasdaqGS: AAPL - news) and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd products, also says its new manufacturing plant in Hanoi, Vietnam will begin production during the second quarter of 2014.

The facility will make EMI products for the global smartphone and portable electronic device market.

"Strong shipments from Apple and Microsoft (Berlin: MSF.BE - news) 's Xbox drove the impressive second-half performance," Liberum Capital analyst Eoin Lambe says in a note, adding that he expects the Vietnamese plant to boost revenue, believing it has been set up to service Samsung.

Lambe also says Laird's performance in the first half of 2014 could improve with China Mobile's recent agreement to sell Apple Inc's iPhone, and the rollout of long-term evolution (LTE) in China, which drives Laird's thermal business.

Liberum maintains its "buy" recommendation for the company's stock.

To see Laird's statement, click on

Reuters messaging rm://richa.naidu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net