Weir CEO to step down; first-half pretax profit falls 25 percent

(Reuters) - Pipe and valve maker Weir Group Plc said Chief Executive Keith Cochrane would step down, and reported a 25 percent fall in pretax profit as oil and gas companies cut spending to counter weak commodity prices. Shares in the company fell 2 percent to 1,493 pence at 0744 GMT on the London Stock Exchange, among the top losers on the FTSE Midcap index . Weir named Jon Stanton, the company's finance director, as chief executive designate, to succeed Cochrane from Oct. 1.