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Weir FY profits grow on strong mining demand, Barratt Redrow CEO to retire
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Wednesday 04 Mar 2026
(Sharecast News) - LONDON PRE-OPEN
The FTSE 100 was expected to open 12.2 points higher ahead of the bell on Wednesday, after wrapping up the previous session 2.75% weaker at 10,484.13.
STOCKS TO WATCH
Engineering firm Weir Group said on Wednesday that both profits and margins had expanded in the 12 months ended 31 December as strong operational execution and rising mining activity drove growth across the business. Weir said orders had risen 7% to £2.59bn, supported by minesite expansions, de-bottlenecking projects and increased technology adoption. Original equipment orders were flat, but up 6% on an underlying basis excluding large contracts, while aftermarket orders climbed 8% on high activity levels and recent acquisitions. Revenues increased 6% to £2.56bn, with OE revenue up 2% and aftermarket revenue rising 8%, while adjusted operating profits advanced 15% to £518m, lifting Weir's adjusted operating margin to 20.2%, up 150bps year-on-year.
Barratt Redrow's long-standing chief executive will step down after more than a decade, the housebuilder announced on Wednesday. David Thomas, who was appointed chief executive in 2015, is retiring after 17 years with the blue chip. He will be replaced by Dean Banks, the current chief executive of Australian infrastructure services provider Ventia.
Construction firm Vistry said CEO Greg Fitzgerald will retire next March after 45 years in the housebuilding sector. Vistry also announced on Wednesday that adjusted pre-tax profits had risen 2% to £268m in the year ended 31 December despite a challenging market and uncertainty ahead of the government's Budget in November.
NEWSPAPER ROUND-UP
News Corp's global chief executive has described news organisations as a valuable "input" for artificial intelligence, as the media empire signs an AI content licensing deal with Meta worth up to USD $50m (AUD $71m) a year. In an upbeat presentation, the chief executive of Rupert Murdoch's company, Robert Thomson, said the "reliable" breaking news and information in publications like the Australian, the Times of London and Dow Jones was "hard to beat" as an "input" for AI. - Guardian
Labour's stealth raid on workers will drive Britain's tax burden up to a fresh record high, rising further and faster than previously forecast. Taxes will rake in £1.4trn per year by the start of the next decade, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility, up from £1.2trn today. That is equivalent to 38.5% of GDP, up from 36.3% in this financial year and higher than the 38.3% predicted by the OBR at the time of Rachel Reeves's Budget in November. - Telegraph
The BBC's chief operating officer has resigned, becoming the third senior executive departure at the broadcaster in four months, as the corporation pushes ahead with a cost-cutting drive. Leigh Tavaziva, who spent five years at the BBC, told staff on Tuesday that she would be stepping down in September to "pursue new opportunities". In a resignation email, Ms Tavaziva said she would be leaving amid a restructuring of the BBC's product and technology divisions, with the company set to combine teams from its public service and its BBC Studios commercial arm. - Telegraph
Private investors facing multimillion-pound losses in the £2bn collapse of a UK mortgage lender have met to discuss "collective action" to protect their interests. Individual investors and Wall Street and City institutions have been caught up in the failure of Market Financial Solutions, a provider of bridging loans and buy-to-let mortgages. The Mayfair-based group was placed into administration last week after a High Court judge said insolvency practitioners needed to investigate claims of fraud. - The Times
The chairman of Asda has reaffirmed his determination to appoint the supermarket's next chief executive from within its existing ranks, arguing that the business is too complex and culturally distinct to be run by an outsider. Allan Leighton, who returned to Asda as executive chairman in November 2024, said he remained committed to promoting from within the current crop of executives once he was satisfied the grocer was firmly back on track. - The Times
US CLOSE
Major indices closed lower on Tuesday as renewed spikes in energy prices reignited concerns that the US-Iran conflict could prove more prolonged than markets had anticipated.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.83% at 48,501.27, while the S&P 500 sank 0.94% to 6,816.63, and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 1.02% lower at 22,516.69.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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