29th Jul 2020 10:13
(Alliance News) - Weir Group PLC on Wednesday said profit shrank considerably in the first half of 2020, with all divisions suffering revenue decline amid the Covid-19 pandemic and Oil & Gas particularly hurt.
The FTSE 250-listed engineering firm, headquartered in Glasgow, posted a GBP62.5 million pretax profit for the six months ended June 30, far less than the previous year's GBP105.7 million profit.
Revenue fell 18% to GBP1.09 billion from GBP1.33 billion, with its Oil & Gas unit experiencing a 46% revenue decline to GBP185 million. ESCO revenue was down 8% at GBP257 million and Minerals revenue was 7% lower at GBP653 million.
Weir ultimately decided against recommending an interim dividend, though will consider paying a final dividend for 2020 on its normal timetable in February 2021.
Chief Executive Jon Stanton said: "As we look ahead, while the business is performing well, it is too early to provide guidance on the full year given ongoing uncertainty due to Covid-19. More broadly, the long-term outlook for mining remains positive, supported by demographic trends, carbon transition, the long-term decline in ore grades and the need to reduce waste and water and energy consumption.
"Weir is ideally placed to help make our mining customers' operations smarter, more efficient and sustainable and we look forward to unlocking more of these opportunities in the future."
Shares in Weird were down 1.5% at 1,191.50 pence in London on Wednesday morning.
By Anna Farley; [email protected]
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