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Weir Group PLC on Tuesday upgraded guidance for the year despite facing headwinds and economic challenges in the first half which adversely impacted profit. The Glasgow, Scotland-based engineering company provides solutions for the minerals and mining technology market. In the first half that ended June 30, statutory pretax profit fell 2.9% to £165 million from £170 million the previous year. Revenue declined 7.2% to £1.21 billion from £1.30 billion, while net debt reduced 12% to £738 million from £842 million. Weir increased the interim dividend by 0.6% to 17.9 pence per share from 17.8p before. Chief Executive Officer Jon Stanton said: ‘Our performance in the first half of the year was resilient in the context of current macro-economic uncertainty and geopolitical tension...Overall we saw good levels of activity across the global mining sector. Gold and copper producers were very active, iron and oil sands stable, while nickel and lithium producers remain under pressure from lower commodity prices. ‘Input costs through the first half were stable, with only minor headwinds from raw material prices and freight availability. Wage inflation continues, however at lower levels than our prior year comparator. Our market leading positions and brands enabled us to capture annualised increases in price to maintain or expand gross margins, though we expect the benefit of these to normalise in the second half.’ The company reiterated its outlook for constant-currency growth in operating profit and upgraded its forecast for operating margins to 18% from 17%, ahead of 17.4% reported in 2023. Weir Group shares were up 1.9% to 1,966.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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