Weir Group, the Glasgow-based global mining and engineering giant, told its investors on Wednesday it has set a target to achieve an operating margin of 20% in 2026.

Weir’s shares rose as much as 4% to about £19.40 to lift the firm’s stock market value above £5 billion.

The company said it held a capital markets event on Wednesday to “focus on our journey to sustainably higher operating margins, and how we will achieve an operating margin of 20% in 2026 …”

Weir said: “Operating leverage: Delivering on our growth prospects from smart, efficient and sustainable mining …

“Performance Excellence: Target upgraded from £30m to £60m in absolute savings in 2026 …

“Conditions in our markets and the 2023 guidance provided in our Q3 trading update of 1 November 2023 are unchanged.”

Weir Group has 12,000 employees operating in over 60 countries, and has a presence in every major mining region of the world.

Weir CEO Jon Stanton said: “Today, I am delighted to announce our new group operating margin target of 20% in 2026. 

“Since completing our portfolio transformation in 2021, we have been on a journey to sustainably higher margins and are on track to deliver an operating margin of 17% this year.

“I am confident and excited to move into this next phase, with our margin expansion journey well underpinned.

“Strong structural growth trends in our markets, the benefits of our resilient compounding business model and opportunities from our Performance Excellence transformation programme mean we are well placed to deliver excellent outcomes for all stakeholders as a focused mining technology leader.”