Renishaw profit plunges on weak China performance

Jan 30 (Reuters) - British engineering company Renishaw Plc (Other OTC: RNSHF - news) reported a 65 percent fall in first-half profit after its China division failed to better its last year's stellar performance.

Pretax profit fell to 25.6 million pounds ($42.4 million) in the six months ended Dec. 31 from a restated 42.2 million pounds a year earlier.

However, the company said it was expecting an improvement in trading activities and revenue in the second half.

Renishaw's first-half profit had risen last year mainly due to a large number of orders from China in the consumer electronics market. ()

The Gloucestershire, England-based company said total revenue fell 6 percent to 164 million pounds while revenue from the Far East (Kuala Lumpur: 5029.KL - news) division fell 25 percent to 59.1 million pounds.

Revenue from China, which contributes more than 10 percent to group revenue, fell 44 percent to 26.9 million pounds.

The FTSE-250 company, which manufactures machine tool probes, gauges and spectroscopy systems, said it restated its 2013 results due to a change in accounting practises.

Renishaw shares, which have fallen about 8 percent in the past year, were trading down 1.8 percent at 1768 pence at 0834 GMT. The stock was one of the biggest percentage losers on the FTSE-250 Midcap Index.