The Weir Group PLC (LSE:WEIR) has appointed Brian Puffer, the current chief financial and risk officer at BP PLC (LSE:BP.)’s supply and trading unit, as its chief financial officer.
The BP executive is expected to join Weir Group’s board by April 2024 and will become an executive director in the company.
He will replace John Heasley, who the company said in July will be leaving to join Anglo American PLC (LSE:AAL) as finance director and is due to step down at the end of November.
Weir Group said that Puffer’s base salary will be £500,000 per year and that his pension, benefits and incentives will be in line with company-wide expectations.
Compensation for forfeiting prior company incentives are expected to be vested beween February 2025 and November 2027 including buyout awards totalling up to £3.5 million.
The company reiterated its guidance for the full year 2023 today, reporting 1% volume growth in mining aftermarket sales, adding that pricing was offset by oil sands.
Orders in its ESCO segment for the third quarter were down 3% as mining demand was offset by infrastructure, it said.
Despite this, Weir said that it is on track to deliver an operating margin target of 17% this year and that it expects free operating cash conversion to be between 80% and 90%.
It said quarterly "revenues and operating margins [are] up year-on-year" in its mining-focused portfolio, despite warning of lower demand for Canadian oil sands and infrastructure in its ESCO division.
Weir Group's chief executive officer Jon Stanton said: "Our third quarter performance is in line with our expectations. We capitalised on high levels of activity in our mining markets, growing mining aftermarket orders, maintaining good momentum in original equipment and expanding our installed base to support future aftermarket growth.
"Going into the fourth quarter, we have a strong order book and operating momentum. These, coupled with high levels of activity in our mining markets, give us significant confidence in reiterating our 2023 guidance of strong growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit, and in meeting our margin and cash conversion targets."