Invensys Q1 trading mixed; still sees better year

LONDON (Reuters) - Engineer Invensys (ISYS.L) on Friday said it continued to see an improvement in performance for the year to end-March 2010 after favourable exchange rates helped orders increase by 17 percent in the first quarter.

The group, which makes products for washing machines, rail signalling and nuclear power stations, said its pipeline in industrial automation remained strong but reduced volumes in its short-cycle products would impact first-half performance.

It said it had seen some stabilisation in the controls business in North America in recent weeks but there were declines in its European operations, although it still expected the division to remain profitable.

Invensys also said its rail operations continued to perform well and order prospects remained strong.

The group had net cash of 277 million pounds at June 30, down 32 million pounds in the quarter due to currency translation and exceptional items.

Shares in Invensys, which have outperformed the index of leading UK companies .FTSE by 46 percent since the start of the year, closed at 242.75 pence on Thursday.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Simon Jessop)