New Weir chief awarded 7% pay rise

NEW Weir Group chief executive Keith Cochrane saw his pay package boosted nearly 7 per cent last year to £822,403 as he took over from the long-standing boss of the Glasgow engineering company, Mark Selway.

Cochrane assumed his new responsibilities on 2 November and his basic salary was increased at that stage to 550,000 from 403,125, the company's annual report revealed yesterday. His package last year included a bonus of 377,182.

In 2008, Cochrane, a former chief executive of Perth-based transport group Stagecoach, had total remuneration of 769,467. Selway received 1.26 million for the ten months he served with Weir Group in 2009.

Legal and commercial director Alan Mitchelson saw his total remuneration dip to 601,698 (645,292), including a bonus of 265,391. The report showed that Weir's chairman, Lord Smith of Kelvin, received 179,195 last year compared with 180,838 in 2008.

Weir, which makes pumps and valves for the mining, oil and gas, and power generation sectors, reported a 6 per cent rise in pre-tax profits last year to 187m.

Cochrane, who stepped up from the position of finance director at Weir, said the group was targeting a similar level of profits for 2010.

The City is primed for a single deal that could transform Weir's oil and gas or industrial business, but the company has also had a track record of bolt-on acquisitions in recent years.