Weir ‘resilience’ as H1 revenue falls 18% to £1bn

Glasgow-based global mining, oil and engineering giant Weir Group talked up its “resilience” on Wednesday as it reported that revenue fell 18% to £1.095 billion in the six months to June 30 and profit before tax fell 41% to £63 million.

Weir said it is too early to provide guidance for the full year given the ongoing uncertainty of the coronavirus crisis. 

Weir Group shares have staged a recovery from a low of around £6.66p in late March to trade around £12.08 on Wednesday.

Weir Group CEO Jon Stanton said: “Our performance in these unprecedented times has reaffirmed the fundamental strength of Weir.

“Across the group, we adapted quickly to the challenges of Covid-19, putting the safety of our people and communities first, while also fully supporting our customers.

“Our core mining technology businesses showed their inherent resilience and the critical role they play in keeping essential activities running. 

“Our Oil & Gas team also skilfully navigated extremely challenging market conditions.

“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.”