Weir Group plc (LON:WEIR) has announced its trading update for the third quarter ended 30 September 20253
Executing well with further strategic progress
Group orders1 +2% including contributions from Micromine and Townley acquisitions
• Group OE orders1,2 +15%, excluding large orders in prior year – reflecting good underlying demand
• Group AM orders1 +10% – reflecting installed base expansion and 5% contribution from acquisitions
Capturing growing demand across our key commodity exposures of copper, gold and iron ore
• Minerals OE orders -24%1 – as expected, due to £48m of OCP and Reko Diq orders in prior year
• ESCO OE orders +36%1 – geographic expansion across APAC
Installed base conversion and software solutions driving aftermarket demand
• Minerals AM orders1 +5% – HPGR installed base conversion and contribution from Townley
• ESCO AM orders1 +21%
o +9% organic growth driven by core GET and MOTION METRICSTM
o +12% from Micromine with a £17m contribution, in line with deal expectations
Strong operating momentum and further strategic investments announced
• Performance Excellence progressing on plan against £80m target of absolute savings in 2026
• Townley acquisition completed in August, strengthening Weir’s presence in North America
• Fast2Mine acquisition announced, extending Micromine’s suite of mining software solutions
FY outlook: 2025 guidance reiterated
• Growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit
• Operating profit margin of c.20%
• Free operating cash conversion of 90% to 100%
Jon Stanton, Weir Group Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“Our performance in the third quarter reflects positive activity in our core mining markets. Demand for brownfield and debottlenecking solutions is driving healthy order momentum for original equipment across both divisions. As customers maximise production to capitalise on metals demand, good underlying aftermarket activity has been enhanced by further installed base conversion and a strong contribution from recent acquisitions.
Having announced our intention to acquire Fast2Mine and completed the Townley transaction, we further strengthened our market presence and product offering, helping our customers address their critical operational and sustainability challenges.
Looking forward to the fourth quarter, despite a number of challenges facing the mining industry, not least continued uncertainty on the outcome of tariff negotiations, we remain focused on disciplined execution against our strong orderbook. We reiterate our 2025 guidance for growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit, together with delivery of our margin and cash conversion targets.”
Third quarter review
Group
Overall activity levels in mining markets remain positive with strong demand in our core commodity exposures of copper, gold and iron ore. At the margin we observed a softening in demand in platinum group metals (PGMs), diamonds and mineral sands as well as from certain well publicised mine disruptions. Across our businesses we continue to see good momentum across brownfield sites as customers choose to partner with us in driving productivity and sustainable mining while the greenfield pipeline remains strong with recent support from specific government policy interventions.
Excluding the £48m2 of large orders we received for the Reko Diq and OCP greenfield projects booked in the prior year, Group OE orders1 grew by 15% reflecting healthy growth in brownfield projects across extraction and the mill circuit. Including those two major projects, Group OE orders1 decreased by 21% during the quarter, reflecting the exceptionally strong prior-year comparative.
Group AM orders1 grew by 10% in the quarter, reflecting 5% underlying organic growth from spare parts and expendables, including installed base expansion, and a further 5% growth delivered by the Micromine and Townley acquisitions.
Total Group orders1 increased by 2% in the third quarter, with year to date book-to-bill of 1.06.
Our Performance Excellence programme continues to progress in line with expectations. In the fourth quarter, our focus is on executing key initiatives within the capacity optimisation and lean processes workstreams. We are firmly on track to achieve our 2026 target of £80m in cumulative savings.
We continue to execute against our acquisition roadmap as we identify targets that meet our robust financial criteria and accelerate our growth strategy. In the quarter we completed the acquisition of Townley, which increases our exposure to the attractive phosphate market and provides a strategically important North America foundry to the Minerals division. We also announced our agreement to acquire mining software provider Fast2Mine, which will complement Micromine’s existing suite of mine planning and mine control software while increasing our digital presence in Latin America.
Minerals
· OE orders1 -24%; against strong prior year comparative
· AM orders1 +5%; reflecting ore production growth, installed base expansion and acquisitions
Excluding the combined £48m2 order wins from OCP and Reko Diq booked in the prior year, underlying OE orders developed positively and grew 13%2, driven by brownfield expansion and debottlenecking projects at existing mine sites. Including those major projects, orders declined in the quarter against an exceptionally strong comparative. We continue to gain market share for our WARMAN® large mill circuit pumps maintaining our conversion rate above 90% in the year.
Minerals AM orders1 rose by 5%, supported by our expanding installed base and favourable production trends in key mining end markets, particularly gold and copper. Organic AM orders1 rose by 3%, supported by sustained ore production in hard rock mining and the continued growth of our installed base, particularly in pumps and HPGR solutions. We completed the acquisition of Townley on 28 August 2025, which contributed £6m to AM orders, with key integration workstreams now underway and progressing well.
ESCO
· OE orders1 +36%; reflecting strong demand for mining attachments
· AM orders1 +21%; growth in core GET and Motions Metrics products alongside Micromine
Original equipment orders grew strongly in the quarter, with high levels of demand for our mining buckets, geographic expansion across the strategically significant APAC region, and further market share gains with net 49 major digger conversions in the quarter.
ESCO AM orders1 increased by 21%, driven by a strong performance from MOTION METRICSTM digital solutions, and contribution from Micromine. AM orders, excluding acquisitions, within ESCO increased 9% in the quarter, driven by our market leading technology, customer intimacy, and customer adoption of our MOTION METRICSTM SaaS offering. In the quarter, Micromine contributed £17m in orders, and continues to deliver in-line with our deal assumptions. The announced acquisition of Fast2Mine is expected to complete in Q4 this year, after which the business will be integrated into Micromine and reported within the ESCO division.
Net debt
As expected, we remain on track to deliver strong cash generation, with net debt levels following normal seasonal patterns. Net debt to EBITDA is expected to be below 2.0x at December 2025 and below 1.5x by year end 2026, in line with our capital allocation policy.
Outlook
Going into the fourth quarter, we are focused on executing against our strong orderbook. For the full year, we reiterate our guidance for growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit, operating margins of c.20%, and delivery of free operating cash conversion of 90% to 100%. We continue to expect headwinds from translational foreign exchange, which we currently estimate to be £105m and £25m on our prior year comparative for revenue and operating profit, respectively.
While we have fully mitigated trade tariffs enacted around the globe so far this year, we continue to carefully monitor macro events which could further impact our business. Specifically, we note elevated levels of uncertainty related to critical metals disputes and further tariffs between the US and China, and their potential to impact global supply chains and customer sentiment.
Over the longer-term, Weir represents a compelling value creation opportunity stemming from our compounding business model. We remain committed to delivering our longer-term guidance: to outgrow our markets, expand margins, and convert earnings into cash-while remaining resilient and committed to doing the right thing for our people and the planet.
Notes:
1. Orders are reported on a constant currency basis with 2024 restated at 2025 average exchange rates.
2. Exclusive of £23m OCP and £25m Reko Diq order announced in Q3 2024, restated at 2025 average exchange rates
3. Financial information is given for the three months ended 30 September 2025, unless stated otherwise
Analyst and investor conference call
A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 08:00 GMT on Wednesday 5 November 2025 to discuss this statement. Participants can join the call by registering in advance by visiting www.global.weir/investors and following the link on the page. A recording of this conference call will be available until Wednesday 12 November 2025.
Capital markets event – 3 December 2025 at 14:00 GMT
The event will feature deep dives illustrating growth prospects across our software, digital solutions and core engineering technology. It will be hosted by our CEO, Jon Stanton, who will be joined by members of the Weir executive leadership team. Please visit www.global.weir/investors for more information and to register your interest.
