- Margins almost hit target
- Miners putting off projects
Weir Group (WEIR) has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the course of its long history and it was unlikely that market turbulence caused by a lack of Russian orders and volatile resources prices would ruffle the company. And it has proved in its half-year results as the Glasgow-based pump manufacturer benefited from price rises, resilient demand in its core minerals division and an ongoing restructuring programme meant that reported operating margins rose by 22 per cent to 16.3 percentage points, not far from management’s target of 17 per cent. The results saw both a big rise in profit, as well as a free operating cash rate that reached 90 per cent.