Weir PLC (LON:WEIR) has announced its trading update for the third quarter ended 30 September 20261
Good order momentum; on track to deliver in line with current market expectations
Group orders2 +8% including acquisitions
• Good underlying demand as customers drive production despite mine disruptions and Middle East impacts
• Positive OE project pipeline momentum, particularly in North and South America
Group Aftermarket (AM) orders2 +10%; Positive mine activity levels, notably gold, copper and oil sands
• Minerals AM2 +7% (+£23m) – healthy demand despite short-term headwinds; organic AM2 +5%
• ESCO AM2 +14% (+£26m) – strong growth in mining GET and Software Solutions; organic AM2 +10%
Group Original Equipment (OE) orders2 +3%; Continued brownfield momentum
• Minerals OE2 +6% (+£7m) – good pipeline conversion with delays pushing some larger projects into Q4
• ESCO OE2 -24% (-£3m) – phasing of large bucket and truck body orders following strong H1
FY Outlook: Strong orderbook, focus on execution and delivery in Q4
• Positive underlying demand expected to continue in a supportive commodity environment
• Minerals production transfers nearing completion with focus on delivery of large AM backlog in Q4 2026
• Actively monitoring macro and sectoral risk stemming from Middle East conflict and Chilean mine disruptions
Andrew Neilson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“Our performance in the third quarter reflects good underlying momentum in our core mining markets, with customers looking to maximise production in a supportive commodity environment. In my first three months as CEO, I am encouraged by our customers’ appetite to expand their partnerships with Weir across their operations to deliver the growth in production and efficiency improvements they need.
As we look to the remainder of the year, mindful of specific geopolitical events which are adding shorter-term headwinds for the sector as a whole, our current pipeline and orderbook reflects a high level of underlying demand for our products. Our focus is now on delivering our large aftermarket backlog in Q4 and we remain on track to deliver in line with current market expectations for 2026.
Looking further ahead, I am excited about the opportunity Weir has into the medium and long term. As a mining technology leader, we are well positioned to continue to drive strong growth and deliver further operational efficiencies, generating value for all our stakeholders. Underpinned by a multi-decade market opportunity driven by demand for critical metals and our resilient business model, our strong cash generation and balance sheet position us to deliver compounding growth in total shareholder returns.”
Third quarter review
Group
Mining markets remain positive with the strongest demand in our core commodity exposures. While ongoing conflict in the Middle East has elevated oil prices and generated higher demand from oil sands customers, it has adversely impacted demand from phosphate customers, which account for c.4% of group revenue, as customers reduce production. Dredging activity also reduced with c.90% of large barges now in port. Activity in Chile was also impacted by extreme weather events. Group OE orders2 increased +3%, with momentum in Minerals brownfield orders and contributions from acquisitions despite some larger order delays into Q4. While ESCO OE orders year-to-date have increased, annual phasing of large bucket and truck body orders has resulted in a quarterly decline of -£3m year-on-year, or -24%.
Group AM orders2 increased +10% in the quarter, as customers drive production for critical minerals at lower ore grades. ESCO hardware orders were particularly strong with several large oil sands orders in September, along with positive contributions from Software Solutions. Integration of our recent acquisitions continues to plan, which also contributed +3% to Group AM orders2 in the quarter.
In total, on a constant currency basis, year-on-year Group orders increased +8% in the third quarter. Year-to-date book-to-bill increased to 1.10, highlighting the growth in orderbook through the first three quarters of the year.
During the quarter, we realised benefits from capacity optimisation as production transfers within Minerals were largely resolved, bringing cumulative Performance Excellence programme savings to £80m. We remain on track to achieve our 2026 full year target of £90m in cumulative savings.
Minerals
OE growth in the quarter was driven by ongoing demand for small and medium projects as customers expand or debottleneck their existing mine sites. While the pipeline for larger projects is actively progressing, phasing continues to impact our orderbook on a quarter by quarter basis, with several larger project opportunities being delayed to Q4. We continue to grow our market share across the mill circuit maintaining our c.90% conversion of competitive WARMAN® field trials.
AM demand was driven by positive ore production trends in our core mining markets. Demand from oil sands was particularly strong, though largely offset by softer African mineral sands demand. Phosphate demand has also been impacted by conflict in the Middle East reducing the availability of key raw material inputs including sulphur and ammonia. Following weather-related disruptions in July and August, our customers in Chile are focused on maximising production over the remainder of the year as they seek to offset the related production shortfall.
ESCO
OE orders in the quarter largely reflect phasing for large bucket and truck bodies. Our integration of ESEL is proceeding to plan with all large customers now onboarded to our direct sales platform and positively contributing as expected.
AM orders2 in the quarter increased +14% across both ESCO’s core hardware offering and Software Solutions. ESCO hardware AM orders reflect strong oil sands and gold markets in North America partially offset by coal production, predominantly in Indonesia. Beyond North America, our ‘low share, no share’ sales strategy continues to accelerate GET growth along with contributions from ESEL. During the quarter, we continued to grow market share having completed 17 net major digger conversions, including three in Chile. The pipeline of geographic expansion opportunities within Micromine continues to grow, with a strategic order conversion in North America during the quarter.
Net debt
We remain on track to deliver strong cash generation, with net debt following normal seasonal patterns. By year end 2026, we expect to land slightly above our normal operating range of 0.5 to 1.5 times net debt to EBITDA. Given the strong cash generation nature of our business model, we expect to be within our normal operating range over the course of 2027. We anticipate resulting net interest expense of c.£90m for full year 2026.
Outlook
Looking ahead to the full year, with good underlying demand in our core markets, we are focused on disciplined execution against our strong orderbook. We are on track to deliver in line with current market expectations for growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit, with operating margins above 20% for the full year along with strong cash conversion.
We are mindful of specific geopolitical events which are adding shorter-term headwinds for the sector, including those arising from prolonged conflict in the Middle East, international freight availability, and the pace of recovery from mine disruptions in Chile.
Over the medium and long term, Weir has a compelling value creation opportunity. As a mining technology leader, we are well positioned to continue to drive strong growth through innovative solutions, geographic expansion, and bolt-on M&A. Our S4Hana implementation will underpin our future connectivity which together with other new operational initiatives, will enable us to drive further efficiency in our business. Underpinned by a multi-decade market opportunity, driven by demand for critical metals and our resilient business model, our strong cash generation and balance sheet position us to deliver compounding growth in total shareholder returns.
Notes:
- Financial information is given for the three months ended 30 September 2026, unless stated otherwise.
- Orders are reported on a constant currency basis with 2025 restated at 2026 average exchange rates.
- Figures in table are impacted by roundings.
Analyst and investor conference call
A conference call for analysts and investors will be held at 0800 GMT on Wednesday 4 November 2026 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 11 November 2026.
