Glasgow's historic Weir Group brings back dividend as order book builds up

Weir Group, the Glasgow-headquartered global mining engineer, has reinstated its shareholder dividend thanks to a solid performance over the first half of the year.

The group is to pay out a dividend of 11.5p per share for the six-month period, having cancelled such returns last year as a result of the pandemic.

Results for the first half of 2021 revealed an adjusted operating profit of £143 million, up from £137m a year earlier. That was despite revenues dipping 1 per cent to £900m.

Weir saw its orders increase 17 per cent, rising from £934m to £1.09 billion.

Weir Group is now in its 150th year, having been founded in 1871 by two Scottish engineers, James and George Weir. Globally, the business has some 11,000 employees operating in more than 60 countries.

The group is now in its 150th year, having been founded in 1871 by two Scottish engineers, James and George Weir. Globally, the business has some 11,000 employees operating in more than 60 countries.

Chief executive Jon Stanton told investors: “We’ve had a good start to the year with excellent execution across the business delivering a strong performance despite ongoing challenges due to the Covid pandemic.

“The order momentum we are seeing reflects demand for recurring aftermarket consumables returning to pre-Covid levels and growing adoption of our more sustainable mining technologies that increase customer efficiency while reducing energy, water and waste.

“Structural demand for clean energy metals is creating a multi-decade growth opportunity for our business as the mining industry invests in expanding capacity while reducing its environmental impact. Our project pipeline continues to grow, particularly for more sustainable solutions, and we are pleased to be resuming the dividend, reflecting our confidence in our strategy and future prospects.”

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