Weir Group PLC shares fell almost 8% on Wednesday after the mining equipment specialist reported annual profits in line with expectations and said growth in 2026 will rely on continued expansion in mining activity.
The Glasgow-based engineering group reported adjusted operating profit of £518 million for the 2025 calendar year, up 15% on a constant currency basis and in line with the City analyst consensus.
Revenue rose 6% to £2.57 billion, while the operating margin improved to 20.2% from 18.8%.
Orders increased 7% to £2.6 billion, driven mainly by strong demand for aftermarket parts and services used in operating mines. These include aftermarket sales such as replacement components and consumables that mining companies need to keep equipment running, which benefited from high levels of mining activity and contributions from recent acquisitions.
Growth in new equipment orders was more modest. Original equipment orders were flat overall, though up 6% when excluding large one-off contracts.
Chief executive Jon Stanton said the group had expanded its reach through acquisitions and investment in digital tools for the mining industry, including geographic expansion and product extensions.
He added that strong execution in the final quarter helped deliver the annual results.
Looking ahead, Stanton said the company expected further growth in 2026: “We expect to deliver another year of revenue growth and margin expansion, supported by full year contributions from our recent acquisitions as well as a final £30 million of Performance Excellence savings.”
The group also said free operating cash conversion was 92% and net debt stood at 1.9 times earnings following recent acquisitions.
Analysts at Stifel said Weir delivered a "strong FY25 in supportive industry conditions, as expected. But there was no upside surprise", with headline operating profit slightly below its estimate. "Similarly, guidance is solid but holds few surprises".
The shares, which before this week had risen 22% since the start of the year and around 50% since a year ago, fell just over 250p to 3,131.4p in early trading.