Weir Group has said that the financial impact of a cyber attack in September was at the lower end of the range set out in October, in large part due to the resilience inherent in the company’s operating model.
The Glasgow-headquartered engineering company reported that it took "robust action" to the ransomware hit, including shutting down IT systems, which caused disruption to manufacturing and shipment re-phasing, which resulted in revenue deferrals and overhead under-recoveries.
The group's full year results for the year ended 31 December 2021 showed adjusted profit before tax remained stationary at £249m - despite foreign exchange headwinds - while statutory profit before tax rose 18% from £178m to £209m year-on-year.
Weir has therefore proposed a final dividend of 23.8 pence, up from zero in 2020.
The financial update hailed a strong order book, driven by active end markets and strategic growth initiatives.
Original equipment orders were up 45%, while aftermarket orders rose 16% during 2021.
Margin expansion was delivered after mitigating the cyber and Covid-19 headwinds.
Weir also reported £266m operating cash flow, which was impacted by inventory build and disruption from the cyber incident.
The November acquisition of Motion Metrics should accelerate the group's technology and digital strategy, noted the financial statement.
New products increased to 6% of revenues, alongside research and development investment. The update also noted a 15% reduction in CO2 equivalent emissions since 2019, with science-based targets to be set in 2022.
Chief executive Jon Stanton explained that order momentum was strong, with a "significant acceleration" in the fourth quarter, and demand for recurring aftermarket consumables has now surpassed pre-Covid levels.
"As events continue to unfold in Ukraine and Russia, where our operations are relatively small, our priority is the safety of our impacted colleagues; we are doing all we can to support them and our thoughts are with them and their families."
He continued that subject to ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, and with Covid-19, inflationary and supply chain pressures likely to persist, "we currently expect to deliver strong growth in constant currency revenue and profit this year and further progress towards our medium-term performance goals".
Longer-term, Stanton said Weir's mining technology focus places it at the heart of a "multi-decade growth opportunity", as it aims to deliver the minerals essential for the clean energy transition more efficiently and sustainably.
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