Weir Q1 boosted by oil and gas demand

1st May 2014 07:13

- First quarter trading in line with expectations- Strong order intake at oil and gas division- Sticking to full-year guidanceScottish engineering group Weir said trading in the last four months has been in line with expectations, helped by a strong performance in the oil and gas and power and industrial divisions, as it sticks to its full-year targets.The FTSE-100 group expects good constant currency revenue and profit growth with margins broadly in line with 2013 levels, however reported results will be hurt by adverse foreign currency movements."We continue to anticipate that these currency headwinds will be greater in the first-half, resulting in full-year reported revenue and profit being weighted more towards the second half," Weir said in a trading update.First quarter input rose 7% from the equivalent period last year, original equipment orders were down 2% and aftermarket orders were up 13% against the prior year period. Operating margins were broadly in line with the prior year period.Among its divisions, order input at mineral for the 13 weeks fell 7% while oil and gas oil and gas order input was slightly ahead of expectations, up 33%. Order input at power and industrial for the period rose 5%.Full-year targets at all of its divisions remain unchanged.Weir said net debt at April 4th 2014 was slightly higher than reported in January, reflecting usual seasonal patterns.CJ