Weir Group 2025 results: profit up 15% and margins top 20% again
The Weir Group has posted a strong 2025, with adjusted operating profit up 15% at constant currency to £518m and margins stepping up 150bps to 20.2%. Orders grew 7% on the same basis as miners kept squeezing more from existing sites, and Q4 was notably strong with flawless execution pushing original equipment (OE) revenue sharply higher into year-end.
Management is guiding to another year of progress in 2026 – mid-single-digit organic revenue growth, around 50bps of margin expansion and free operating cash conversion in the 90-100% range. The upgraded Performance Excellence programme is now targeting £90m of cumulative savings, with the final £30m to land in 2026.
Key numbers that matter for investors
| Metric | FY 2025 | Change vs 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orders (constant currency) | £2,598m | +7% | AM +8%; OE flat overall, +6% underlying excluding large orders |
| Revenue | £2,565m | +6% constant currency; +2% reported | Book-to-bill 1.01 |
| Adjusted operating profit | £518m | +15% constant currency; +10% reported | Adjusted operating margin 20.2% (+150bps cc) |
| Adjusted EPS | 123.8p | +3% | Dividend policy unchanged |
| Free operating cash conversion | 92% | -10pp | Within 90-100% target range |
| Net debt | £1,274m | +£739m | Net debt/EBITDA 1.9x after acquisitions |
| Return on capital employed | 17.9% | -140bps | Reflects acquisition spend |
| Total dividend per share | 41.7p | +4% | Final dividend 22.1p, payable 29 May 2026 |
What drove the beat: aftermarket strength and a software kicker
Aftermarket (AM) is the engine-room at Weir and it showed. AM orders rose 8% and AM revenue increased 8% as miners ran assets hard in copper and gold, especially in the Americas. Original equipment was flat year-on-year, but that masks healthier small-to-mid order momentum as customers pushed on with brownfield upgrades and debottlenecking.
The other leg is software. Micromine – acquired in April – is performing to plan with annual recurring revenue up 24% on an annualised basis, 88% total recurring revenue and 94% customer retention. High-quality software margins helped lift the Group’s blended margin above 20%.
Divisional deep-dive: Minerals and ESCO both expanded margins
Minerals: steady growth, rising share and a North America boost
- Orders +5% to £1,879m; AM orders +7% driven by pumps and comminution spares; OE orders flat with fewer large orders year-on-year.
- Revenue +6% to £1,856m, with AM +7% and OE +5% as large project shipments landed in H2.
- Adjusted operating profit £406m, up 11%; margin 21.9% (+100bps) helped by Performance Excellence savings.
- Townley contributed £31m of orders and £21m of revenue in four months, strengthening phosphate exposure and US manufacturing depth.
Minerals continues to win where it counts: over 90% success in large mill circuit pump trials and a flagship order to supply the largest mill circuit pump in North America for a copper project. That installed base growth sets up future aftermarket pull-through.
ESCO: GET momentum, sensor analytics scaling, and Chile go-direct
- Orders +11% to £719m; AM remains 93% of orders. Micromine added £44m of orders and £41m of revenue.
- Revenue +6% to £709m; OE -22% on bucket delivery phasing, but core GET and MOTION METRICS demand stayed firm.
- Adjusted operating profit £152m, up 22%; margin 21.4% (+260bps) on software mix and operational improvements.
Strategically, the division is tightening its grip on key markets: 159 net major digger conversions, progress in Australia buckets, and the move to acquire the remaining stake in ESEL to accelerate a go-direct model in Chile. On the digital side, ShovelMetrics payload monitoring and broader Micromine feature releases point to ongoing upsell opportunities.
Cash, balance sheet and dividends: disciplined but acquisitive
Cash generation remained healthy with 92% free operating cash conversion, albeit down 10 percentage points on higher inventories to support order delivery and site rationalisation. Working capital rose to 22.4% of sales (2024: 20.7%).
Net debt increased to £1,274m after the Micromine (£624m EV), Townley (£111m EV) and Fast2Mine deals, taking net debt to EBITDA to 1.9x – in line with guidance. Management expects to drift back toward the normal 0.5-1.5x range by end-2026. The dividend is lifted 4% to 41.7p, covered 3.0x by adjusted EPS, with the final 22.1p due on 29 May 2026 to holders on 1 May 2026.
Strategy update: building a hardware-plus-software mining champion
- Software Solutions: Micromine and Fast2Mine broaden the portfolio from exploration to extraction, adding sticky, high-margin recurring revenue.
- Geographic expansion: Townley brings scale and proximity in North American phosphate, while the ESEL acquisition (announced post year-end) accelerates South American reach.
- Performance Excellence: cumulative savings now £59m, upgraded target £90m with the final £30m due in 2026; total programme cost trimmed to £113m.
This mix should support margins sustainably above 20% from 2026, according to management, with continuous improvement embedded across supply chain, manufacturing and central functions.
2026 guidance: growth and another nudge up in margins
Weir sees:
- Mid-single-digit organic revenue growth, helped by brownfield expansions and debottlenecking, plus ongoing software traction.
- Circa 50bps of operating margin expansion, supported by the final Performance Excellence savings and full-year contributions from 2025 acquisitions.
- Free operating cash conversion of 90-100% and book-to-bill discipline maintained.
In short, another year of sensible, compounding improvements rather than heroics – which is exactly what long-term holders should want from an aftermarket-heavy mining supplier.
Watch-outs: safety, financing costs and working capital
- Safety: total incident rate rose to 0.52 (2024: 0.42). Management has stepped up actions and saw H2 improvement, but it remains a focus.
- Finance costs: continuing operations net finance costs rose to £70m (2024: £44m) reflecting higher borrowings and refinancing – a headwind to statutory profit if rates stay elevated.
- Working capital: 22.4% of sales is higher than ideal. Delivery of lean initiatives should help, but it is one to watch for cash conversion.
- Commodity mix: demand is strongest in copper and gold; nickel and lithium remain soft in certain regions, which may temper OE momentum.
- Exceptional items: a £20m gain arose from deconsolidating a US subsidiary in Chapter 11 linked to legacy asbestos matters; court proceedings are ongoing and a provision remains. Statutory EPS fell 21% mainly due to a prior-year exceptional tax credit.
Why this matters: my take for retail investors
Weir is doing what high-quality industrials do in a good mining tape: protecting margins, growing the installed base and layering on software to raise the quality of earnings. The 20.2% adjusted operating margin and the upgraded £90m Performance Excellence target give credibility to management’s ambition to keep margins above 20% from 2026.
Yes, net debt is higher after a big year of M&A, and financing costs ticked up. But leverage is sensible at 1.9x, cash conversion remains robust, and the dividend is edging up with a comfortable 3.0x cover. If the 2026 guide on growth and margin expansion is met – and software keeps compounding – the equity story continues to improve.
Bottom line: a solid year operationally with tangible self-help, smart portfolio moves and a positive 2026 setup. For long-term holders seeking exposure to copper and gold production growth with a strong aftermarket tilt, this is the sort of steady execution you want to see.
