REG - Weir Group PLC - Q1 Trading Update

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RNS Number : 4855C  Weir Group PLC  30 April 2026

 

 

The Weir Group PLC trading update for the first quarter ended 31 March 2026(1)

Order growth on track; 2026 guidance reiterated

 

Strong and growing pipeline of mine optimisation and expansion opportunities;
Group orders(2) +4%

•    Large equipment projects picking up pace, c. £20m order for GEHO®
pumps in India received in Q1

•    Acquisition integration progressing well, performance in line with
plans

Good visibility of large project pipeline conversion ahead; Group OE orders(2)
+1%

•    Minerals OE(2) -3% - good underlying momentum offset by phasing;
full year project pipeline strong

•    ESCO OE(2) +49% - exceptional order levels for highly engineered
mining attachments

Very positive mine activity levels; Group AM orders(2) +4%

•    Minerals AM(2) +1% - Townley contribution offset by temporary mine
disruptions and HPGR AM ramp-up in PY

•    ESCO AM(2) +11% - strong growth in mining and infrastructure GET
(+7%) and Software Solutions

Strong strategic progress with all acquisitions on track

•    Completed acquisition of ESEL; strong start to ESCO go-direct
strategy in Chile

•    Good progress in Micromine and Fast2Mine orders as enhanced sales
pipelines begin to convert

•    Integration of Townley sales team and brands complete

FY outlook: 2026 guidance reiterated

•    Positive markets enhanced by contributions from recent acquisitions

•    Growth in constant currency revenue, operating profit and operating
margin

•    Free operating cash conversion of 90% to 100%

Jon Stanton, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"During the first quarter, the Group executed strongly against our strategic
growth agenda, completing the acquisition of ESEL and integrating at pace
those acquisitions completed last year. Against a backdrop of growing
geopolitical tensions, our strong operational platform is delivering for our
customers, with limited impact to our global supply chain.

Looking ahead to the full year, we remain focused on disciplined execution
despite several challenges facing the mining industry, not least rising
uncertainty as to potential impacts from conflict in the Middle East. With
supportive commodity prices driving demand for expansions and high underlying
activity levels, we expect orders to develop very positively through the year
and reiterate our full year guidance for growth in constant currency revenue
and operating profit, together with achievement of our margin and cash
conversion targets."

 

First quarter review

Group

We have good visibility across the Group of our pipeline brownfield and
greenfield expansion projects as customers are increasingly investing in
expansion and debottlenecking projects as supply deficits in critical metals
emerge. Group OE orders(2) increased +1%, as good underlying momentum in the
quarter was masked by phasing, with expectations of strong full year growth
enhanced as projects accelerate.

Good momentum in AM orders across Minerals and ESCO in the quarter was offset
by a number of mine site disruptions and orderbook phasing, and overall AM
orders(2) were +4%. Strong integration progress across our recent acquisitions
of Micromine, Fast2Mine, Townley and ESEL contributed +7% to Group AM
orders(2) in the quarter.

In total, on a constant currency basis, year-on-year Group orders increased
+4% in the first quarter. Year to date book-to-bill increased to 1.14
following normal seasonality.

In the quarter, we began to realise benefits from capacity optimisation
projects completed in 2025, bringing cumulative Performance Excellence
programme savings to £66m. Above savings on a run rate basis, we continue to
receive incremental benefits from our LEAN and WBS activities, keeping us on
track to deliver our upgraded 2026 target of £90m in cumulative savings.

Given our significant acquisition and debt refinancing activities in 2025, we
expect the integration of these businesses and deleveraging our balance sheet
to remain our focus over the course of this year.

Minerals

·      OE orders(2) -3%; good underlying momentum offset by orderbook
phasing

·      AM orders(2) +1%; ore production growth offset by temporary mine
disruptions and PY comparator

In OE, positive demand for large debottlenecking and expansion projects was
offset by phasing of orders. During the quarter, we received orders for a
long-distance iron ore concentrate pipeline in India as well as our first two
vertical stirred mills, a proof point for the innovative technology we are
bringing to the market. We continue to grow our pump market share with four
completed mill pump trials in the quarter, three of which were successfully
converted to WARMAN(®).

Aftermarket orders increased on continued high levels of activity in copper
and gold, and as the integration of the Townley business continues at pace
with the sales team and brands now fully aligned with the broader Minerals
portfolio. Growth in the quarter was partially offset by temporary mine site
disruptions in APAC and Africa and a strong PY comparable including the
booking of several HPGR spares orders for newly installed machines.

ESCO

·      OE orders(2) +49%; very strong demand for mining buckets globally

·      AM orders(2) +11%; reflecting growth in GET and software
solutions contributions offset by dredge

In OE, growth was driven by mining bucket orders across the core mining
regions of North America, South America and Africa, as well as our first
orders for the innovative Production Master bucket in APAC. Truck bodies and
lip systems also contributed to strong demand in the quarter.

Strong momentum in mining and infrastructure GET (+7%) and from the oil sands
was offset by limited demand for dredge points due to the Middle East
conflicts, following an exceptional £7m(3) of orders in Q1 2025. We continue
to gain market share in mining GET with 19 net major digger conversions.
Integration of ESEL is proceeding smoothly, with all customers now
transitioned and bookings up year on year as the growth strategy is executed.

Our Software Solutions business is performing strongly, with good market
momentum. We are leveraging Weir's global footprint to drive growth across
Software Solutions and progressing well with Motion Metrics transition to the
SaaS revenue model. In the quarter, we booked strategic orders for a software
trial at a Micromine Tier 1 target customer and a Fast2Mine international
order.

Net debt

As expected, we remain on track to deliver strong cash generation, with net
debt following normal seasonal patterns. By year end 2026, we expect to return
towards our normal operating range of 0.5 to 1.5 times net debt to EBITDA, in
line with our capital allocation policy. We anticipate resulting net interest
expense of £90m for the full year, which we expect to decrease to c. £70m
through 2028.

Outlook

Looking ahead to the full year, we remain focused on disciplined execution
despite several challenges facing the mining industry, not least rising
uncertainty as to potential impacts from conflict in the Middle East. Activity
levels in our core mining markets remain strong and activity around larger
projects is also picking up pace. Combined with continued growth in Software
Solutions and the remaining £30m full year Performance Excellence benefits,
we are on track to deliver growth in constant currency revenue, operating
profit and operating margin over the full year with free operating cash
conversion of between 90% and 100%.

We expect good growth in orders over the full year and are encouraged by both
our visibility of the orderbook and operational momentum. As in 2025, we
expect a weighting in revenue and profit to the second half. We expect cash
conversion to follow normal seasonal patterns, with a steady build in
inventory through the first half followed by collections toward the end of the
year.

Over the longer term, Weir has a compelling value creation opportunity. As a
focused mining technology leader with a world class operating platform, the
fundamentals for our business are highly attractive.  Underpinned by a
resilient business model and robust balance sheet, we are poised to drive
accelerated growth through compounding M&A, all while doing the right
thing for our people, our other stakeholders, and the planet.

Notes:

1.             Financial information is given for the three months
ended 31 March 2026, unless stated otherwise.

2.             Orders are reported on a constant currency basis
with 2025 restated at 2026 average exchange rates.

3.             USD to GBP rate of 1.35.

4.             Figures in table are impacted by roundings.

 

Analyst and investor conference call

A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 0800 BST on
Thursday 30 April 2026 to discuss this statement. Participants can join the
call by registering in advance by visiting www.global.weir/investors
(https://www.global.weir/investors) and following the link on the page. A
recording of this conference call will be available until Thursday 7 May 2026.

 

 Enquiries:
 Investors: Philip Carlisle  +44 (0)141 308 3617
 Media: Sally Jones          +44 (0)141 308 3666
 CDR: Claire de Groot        +44 (0) 7767 254 469
 CDR: Sabine Pirone          +44 (0) 7903 847 557

                             Weir@cdrconsultancy.com

 

About The Weir Group PLC

Founded in 1871, The Weir Group PLC is one of the world's leading engineering
businesses with a purpose to make its mining and infrastructure customers'
operations more sustainable and efficient. Weir's highly engineered technology
and digital solutions enable critical resources to be produced using less
energy, water and waste while reducing customers' total cost of ownership. The
Group is ideally positioned to benefit from structural trends that support
long-term demand for its technology including the need for more essential
metals to support economic development and carbon transition. The Group has
c.12,000 employees operating in over 50 countries with a presence in every
major mining region of the world. Find out more at www.global.weir
(http://www.global.weir) .

Weir's ordinary shares trade on the London Stock Exchange (ticker: WEIR LN)
and its American Depositary Receipts trade over-the-counter in the USA
(ticker: WEGRY).

Appendix 1 - Group quarterly order trends

                     Reported organic growth(4)
 Division            2025 Q1                     2025 Q2                      2025 Q3                      2025 Q4                     2026 Q1
 Original Equipment              6%              16%                          -24%                         9%                                      -6%
 Aftermarket                     9%                          10%              3%                                       1%                          -3%
 Minerals                        8%                          11%                          -6%                          2%                          -3%

 Original Equipment              0%                          -16%             36%                                      -7%                         49%
 Aftermarket                     -2%             4%                                       9%                           11%                         -5%
 ESCO                            -2%                         2%                           11%                          8%                          -2%

 Original Equipment              5%                          12%                          -21%                         7%                          -2%
 Aftermarket                     5%                          8%                           5%                           3%                          -3%
 Group                           5%                          9%                           -2%                          4%              -3%
 Book-to-bill        1.11                        1.07                         1.01                         0.89                        1.14

 

                     Quarterly reported orders £m
 Division            2025 Q1  2025 Q2  2025 Q3  2025 Q4  2026 Q1
 Original Equipment  122      115      109      116      115
 Aftermarket         349      367      327      374      352
 Minerals            471      482      436      490      467

 Original Equipment  12       12       13       13       18
 Aftermarket         165      162      169      173      179
 ESCO                177      174      182      186      197

 Original Equipment  134      127      122      129      133
 Aftermarket         514      529      496      547      531
 Group               648      656      618      676      664

 

 

Appendix 2 - 2026 Q1 order bridges (as reported)(4)

 

                        Minerals         ESCO             Group
 Group orders           OE   AM   Total  OE   AM   Total  OE   AM   Total

 (£m)
 2025 Q1 - as reported  122  349  471    12   165  177    134  514  648
 Organic                -6%  -3%  -3%    49%  -5%  -2%    -2%  -3%  -3%
 Structure              3%   4%   3%     0%   16%  15%    3%   7%   7%
 Currency               -3%  0%   -1%    -1%  -2%  -2%    -3%  -1%  -1%
 Total                  -6%  1%   -1%    48%  9%   11%    -2%  3%   3%
 2026 Q1 - as reported  115  352  467    18   179  197    133  531  664

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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