SHARES in Weir Group were up more than two per cent in early trading after profits increased during a “transformational year” for the Glasgow engineering giant.

And the group flagged its expectation of further profit and revenue growth this year.

Weir hiked its pre-tax profit by 22 per cent to £310 million in the year ended December 31, boosted by increased orders in its core minerals and oil and gas markets.

The period saw Weir make its biggest acquisition to date with a $1.3 billion deal to buy Oregon-based ESCO, which provides ground engaging tools to the surfacing mining and construction industries. It then sold its loss-making Flow Control division this week, leaving it to focus on its core markets.

Chief executive Jon Stanton said: “The last year has been transformational for the Group. With ESCO, we completed our largest ever acquisition while also agreeing the sale of the Flow Control division. The result is a more focused and higher-quality global business that is simpler and stronger with more than 80% of the Group's revenues from attractive upstream mining and oil and gas markets. At the same time, we have made significant progress on our We are Weir strategy and delivered good order and profit growth, underpinned by strong cash generation.”