Weir has reported a strong Q1 2026 including a growing pipeline of mine optimisation and expansion opportunities; Group orders were up +4% with it says large equipment projects picking up pace. Jon Stanton, Weir CEO, said during the conference call: “Our customers continue to prioritise productivity, debottlenecking, and expansion projects at existing sites alongside investment in technologies that improve sustainability and reduce total cost of ownership. Demand for large equipment projects is picking up pace. In the quarter, we picked up a £20 million order for GEHO pumps in India, further evidence of our market-leading slurry transportation solutions. The pipeline of larger expansion opportunities is really encouraging.”
He continued: “Adding to our larger wins, we booked a number of smaller strategic orders in the quarter. We continue to see market share gains in our core Warman Pump and ESCO GET brands. The pipeline of opportunities for our newer technologies is very encouraging. Excitingly, in software solutions, Micromine is starting to see incremental growth generated by leads from the broader Weir network with a license sale at a major Tier 1 customer. We saw the first international orders for Fast2Mine resulting from our initiatives to grow outside of Brazil. Our business is executing well with the integration and performance of recent acquisitions all well on track.”
Stanton also said Weir continues to gain market share through technology leadership. “During the quarter, we completed four mill pump circuit trials, three of which were successfully converted to Warman pumps. This reinforces our strong competitive position and the value our customers place on performance, reliability, and total cost of ownership.” During the quarter, Weir also received orders for a long-distance iron ore concentrate pipeline in India as well as its first two vertical stirred mills.
In aftermarket, minerals orders increased by 1% year-on-year. Growth was supported by solid ore production levels in copper and gold, as well as the ongoing integration of Townley, with the sales team now fully aligned to the broader Minerals organisation. Weir also booked several HPGR spares orders for newly installed machines. Growth in the quarter was partially offset by temporary mine site disruptions in APAC and Africa.
Also in the quarter, Weir says it began to realise benefits from capacity optimisation projects completed in 2025, bringing cumulative Performance Excellence programme savings to £66 million. “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.”
ESCO had a really good quarter with OE orders up 49%, reflecting very strong demand for mining buckets globally. Aftermarket orders were up 11%; reflecting growth in GET and software solutions contributions. “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. “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.
Looking ahead to the full year, Weir says it remains 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%.”
It concludes: “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…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.”
Source: im-mining.com
