Weir Group (LSE:WEIR) shares slumped 4.7% to 2,634p after the group reiterated its 2026 guidance as it reported Q1 orders up 4%.
Group original equipment (OE) orders rose c.+1% in Q1 while aftermarket (AM) orders increased c.+4%, year‑to‑date book‑to‑bill improved to 1.14 and recent acquisitions (Micromine, Fast2Mine, Townley and ESEL) contributed +7% to Group AM orders in the quarter.
"We expect orders to develop very positively through the year and reiterate our full year guidance for growth in constant currency revenue and operating profit, together with achievement of our margin and cash conversion targets," said Jon Stanton, Chief Executive Officer.
Minerals OE was down c.-3% as strong underlying momentum was masked by phasing, while ESCO OE jumped c.+49% driven by global demand for mining buckets and ESCO AM rose c.+11% from GET and Software Solutions.
Q1 commercial highlights included a c.£20m GEHO® pump order in India, first two vertical stirred mill orders, four mill pump trials with three converting to WARMAN® and early strategic software wins at Micromine and Fast2Mine targets.
Performance Excellence cumulative savings reached £66m with a 2026 target of £90m, and the group expects to return net debt to c.0.5-1.5x EBITDA by year‑end 2026 with net interest expense of around £90m for the full year, reducing to c.£70m through 2028.
Weir said large project activity is picking up, integration of recent acquisitions is progressing in line with plans and it expects a second‑half weighting to revenue and profit while cash conversion follows normal seasonal patterns.
