Panmure Liberum has maintained its view that London-listed Weir Group will be in the market for further acquisitions in the next 18 months after putting to bed its US$800 million Micromine acquisition last year.
Weir had net debt to EBITDA of 1.9x at the end of 2025 and said after delivering a 2026 first-quarter trading update this week it expected strong cash generation this year to help it return “towards our normal operating range of 0.5-to-1.5 times net debt to EBITDA” by the end of 2026.
“We anticipate resulting net interest expense of £90 million for the full year, which we expect to decrease to circa-£70 million through 2028,” the company said.
Weir booked 2026 Q1 orders of £664 million, up 4% year-on-year. It said large equipment projects were “picking up pace”, citing a £20 million order for GEHO pumps in India, while its full-year project pipeline was strong and ESCO was seeing “exceptional order levels for highly engineered mining attachments”.
London investment bank Panmure Liberum noted Weir’s stated preparedness to go to two-times net debt to EBITDA to facilitate acquisitions “if the right opportunity exists” and its analysis suggested the company would have “ample headroom” for deal-making.
“This is in contrast with the market narrative that it will lack the ability to supplement organic growth with further inorganic growth,” the bank said.
“Weir’s Q1 26 statement indicates … overall activity levels in mining markets remain very positive but we remain cognisant of potential impacts from the conflict in the Middle East.
“Minerals orders were broadly stable, with solid aftermarket demand and continued technology and market share gains offset by order timing in original equipment and temporary mining disruptions.
“ESCO delivered strong growth, driven by robust OE demand for mining buckets and solid aftermarket performance supported by GET and software, despite weaker dredge demand.
“Importantly, Weir booked strategic orders for a software trial at a Micromine tier-one target customer.”
Panmure Liberum said while Weir’s aftermarket orders (plus-4% yoy) were constrained by short-term mine disruptions, this was offset by plus-7% contribution from acquisitions, including ESEL Townley, Micromine and Fast2Mine.
“Encouragingly, on the analyst call, management indicated that some good orders were booked in April,’ the bank said.
