Final Results

The Weir Group PLC reports its Full Year results for the year ended 31 December 2024.

AM demand acceleration and strong execution through second half of 2024

2026 targets for Performance Excellence savings and operating margins upgraded

Project pipeline continuing to strengthen and beginning to convert

• £67m of orders received for Reko Diq and OCP expansion projects

• Overall OE orders1 slightly down YoY; strong demand in brownfield with Q4 delays in project awards

Installed base expansion and improving H2 activity levels driving strong aftermarket demand growth

• Q4 AM orders1 +10% YoY (+7% excluding £14m from re-phasing of multi-year contract)

• Full year AM orders1 +4% reflecting acceleration of demand through second half

Performance Excellence benefits and adjusted operating margins ahead of prior expectation

• Cumulative Performance Excellence savings of £29m to date

• Adjusted operating profit1,2 of £472m, +9%

• Adjusted operating margin1,2 of 18.8%; significantly ahead of prior year +170bps

Cash conversion above target range and returns improving further

• Free operating cash conversion of 102% (guidance 90-100%)

• Net debt to EBITDA 0.7x

• Return on capital employed of 19.3%, +130bps

2025 Outlook: Growth in constant currency revenue, operating profit and operating margins

• Strong opening order book and positive activity levels in AM

• Performance Excellence savings of £20m expected in 2025

• Free operating cash conversion of 90-100%

• 2026 Performance Excellence savings target increased to £80m and operating margins expected to be above 20%

See footnotes on page 5

Jon Stanton, Chief Executive Officer said:

"Weir is delivering on its mission to provide mining technology for a sustainable future and executing well against the commitments set out in our equity case. We are shaping innovation that will enable the mining industry to scale up and clean up and delivering strong outcomes for customers. At the same time our Performance Excellence programme has created the efficient scalable platform that positions Weir for compounding growth in the years ahead.

The power of our transformed platform was evident in our strong execution in 2024 with operating margins and cash conversion significantly ahead of expectation, supported by strengthening demand conditions in the second half.

As we go into 2025, we have a growing pipeline of project bids, a strong order book, and see positive aftermarket demand drivers in mining. For the full year, we expect to deliver growth in revenue, operating profit and margins. We expect our Performance Excellence programme will deliver incremental savings of £20m in 2025, and cumulative savings of £80m through 2026, moving our operating margins sustainably beyond 20%."

A webcast of the management presentation will begin at 07:30 (GMT) on 28 February 2025 at www.investors.weir. A recording of the webcast will also be available at www.investors.weir.

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REVIEW

Introduction

In 2024, we performed strongly against a backdrop of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. We grew our pipeline of market-leading sustainable original equipment (OE) solutions and delivered growth in our aftermarket (AM) business as customers maximised production at their existing assets. We transformed the way we operate across our businesses and maintained our focus on our customers. We executed well against our commitments to our stakeholders delivering significant growth in operating profit, operating margins and cash generation.

Throughout the year, activity levels in mining markets remained high as customers position to address the long-term structural demand for critical minerals. While permitting remains a challenge in certain geographies, governments around the world have signalled their support for accelerating long delayed applications and bright spots are emerging as customers renew investment in future growth through new greenfield projects. In June we launched our refreshed brand - mining technology for a sustainable future - positioning Weir as a market-leading strategic partner for our customers as they scale up and clean up to deliver the metals and minerals required for the energy transition. This is reflected in our strengthening pipeline of projects that is beginning to convert, while our resilient aftermarket biased business model continues to deliver growth across our businesses.

We made significant progress in our Performance Excellence programme in 2024, delivering cumulative savings of £29m, ahead of expectations. Our achievement reflects our progress in optimising capacity, implementing lean processes and functional transformation across Weir, all while maintaining our commitment to be there for our customers.

Our refreshed sustainability strategy now sits at the core of our We are Weir strategic framework - focusing on what we do internally to deliver sustainable Weir and externally to accelerate sustainable mining. The health, safety and wellbeing of colleagues remains our top priority, and we have taken steps to reinforce and reinvigorate a zero harm culture. Partnering with customers, our engineers are developing innovative new technologies to move less rock, use less energy, use water wisely and create less waste, enabled by intelligent automation. In 2024 we launched ESCO® NexsysTM, the next generation of our market-leading core GET and lip system. We also continued to expand our digital offering with the launch of NEXT intelligent solutions and new MOTION METRICSTM ShovelMetricsTM technology to support our customers in making real-time decisions that help them to run their operations more efficiently and safely.

Our performance in 2024 is a testament to the hard work and dedication of Weir colleagues across the globe. We recognise that the tough choices we have had made as we optimise our business has impacted some of our people. I would like to thank all our employees for their commitment and contribution to our success.

Going into 2025, we have strong operational momentum and supportive mining markets, underpinning our expectations for further revenue growth and margin expansion. We anticipate greater capital expenditure in mining markets will drive heightened demand for our market-leading sustainable solutions, particularly for larger flowsheet solutions. Given the strong delivery of our Performance Excellence programme, we are upgrading the absolute savings target to £80m in 2026 and, as a result, expect to achieve operating margins sustainably beyond 20% in 2026.

Further out, we are well positioned to deliver compelling value creation to our stakeholders. We are a focused mining technology leader with differentiated capabilities and high barriers to entry. Our markets are primed for a multi-decade growth opportunity driven by demand for critical minerals to support the energy transition, as well as the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Together with our strong operating platform, we are well positioned to deliver compounding financial benefits, while remaining resilient and doing the right thing for our people and the planet.

OE growth: Demand for critical minerals driving order pipeline conversion

The structural demand drivers for critical metals enabling electrification remain robust, supplemented by growing investment in AI. Despite short-term uncertainty in commodities, constructive changes in mine permitting and greenfield capital expenditure globally drove demand for our larger OE solutions through the second half of the year.

We secured a £53m order to supply an industry-leading fine grinding solution to Barrick Gold's Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan, capitalising on growing industry acceptance of our Redefined Mill Circuit and supporting our customer's need to use less energy and water at this remote mine site. We also secured a £25m order to supply an energy efficient separation solution to OCP's Benguerir and Louta phosphate projects in Morocco, leveraging the market-leading WARMAN® slurry pump and CAVEX® hydrocyclone brands. Demand for OE in smaller brownfield and debottlenecking projects at existing mines remained stable.

Full year constant currency OE orders decreased 4% reflecting delays in timing of project awards in Q4 following a strong Q3, with several medium size orders being received in January. In our core Minerals business, we converted 92% of our completed mill circuit pump trials and in ESCO we won 118 net major diggers as we continue to drive strategic growth initiatives.

Encouragingly, several Tier 1 miners announced plans for additional capex throughout the globe and we continue to position ourselves as an essential partner for our customers in key growth markets. For example, in order to participate in the mining and metals growth strategy of Saudi Arabia, we agreed a head of terms to form a joint venture with Olayan Saudi Holding Company (Olayan), which will extend our extensive expertise in sales and sustainable mining technology solutions to the region. Under the terms of the joint venture, Weir will take the lead on sales, technical and product responsibilities, while Olayan will focus on new business development, capitalising on its strong presence and knowledge of the regional market.

AM growth: Installed base expansion and improving activity levels

Overall, we saw good levels of activity across the global mining sector. Market prices for our main commodity exposures of copper, gold and iron ore were well above customers' cost to produce, while nickel and lithium producers remain under pressure from lower commodity prices.

Across the Group, demand was particularly strong in the Middle East and Africa where we continue to grow market share. Both Minerals and ESCO saw an elevated level of mine-specific headwinds in the first half, such as shutdowns in Panama and Australia, but these trends were more than offset in the second half as the commissioning of new installed base accelerated. From a commodity perspective, order growth was strongest in future facing minerals such as copper and phosphate, while year-on-year demand decreased in both coal and the oil sands.

Infrastructure markets were largely stable through the year. Orders from infrastructure customers grew 2%, though absolute orders remain below peak levels seen in previous years.

Full year constant currency AM orders increased by 4% driven by hard rock mining production trends, installed base expansion and a modest contribution from pricing.

As previously indicated, the large annual recurring order usually received in Minerals during the second quarter has been split this year between the second and fourth quarter due to the timing of the contract renewal - the net effect being that c.£14m of aftermarket orders have shifted to the second half. In 2025, the full annual order of around £31m is expected to be received in the second quarter.

Revenue and margins: Performance Excellence ahead of plan

Despite strong execution in the fourth quarter, revenue for the Group declined 1% for the full year on a constant currency basis with aftermarket growth of 2% offset by the phasing of two large OE project deliveries into 2025. The Group's book-to-bill was 1.01.

The operating environment in 2024 was stable. Our leading market positions and strong brands enabled us to achieve sufficient price increases during the year to protect our gross margins from any inflationary effects across our cost base.

Progress within our Performance Excellence programme continues at pace and is ahead of our targets for cumulative absolute savings. During the year, we recognised the benefits of projects launched at the start of the programme, including the consolidation of several Minerals manufacturing facilities in the US and APAC, as well as optimisation of our Australian service centre and Latin American distribution footprints. Adoption of our refreshed lean programme, Weir Integrating Network System (WINS) in Minerals, contributed to the largest savings during the year, driving a reduction in overall material cost as well as quality improvements.

We opened our new ESCO foundry in Xuzhou, China, the most efficient in our network, ensuring that we remain highly responsive to demands from within our own supply chain. We also established Weir Business Services (WBS) and are embedding new ways of working through transformation across our Finance, HR and IS&T functions, the benefits of which will be reflected in years to come.

On a constant currency basis, adjusted operating profit grew 9% year-on-year, and adjusted operating margins were 18.8%, up 170bps on the prior year. Expansion in operating margin arose from very strong execution within Performance Excellence workstreams and movement in Minerals revenue mix towards aftermarket.

Returns: Growth in returns and strong balance sheet

Free operating cash conversion for the year increased to 102%, above our 2024 target range of 90% to 100%, benefiting from a strong reduction in working capital driven by lean projects within Performance Excellence. Our strong cash generation continued through the second half of the year and overall represents a significant 17 percentage point improvement on the prior year. Working capital as a percentage of sales reduced to 20.7% (2023: 21.3%).

As a result, net debt to EBITDA at the end of December was 0.7x, giving the Group considerable optionality and flexibility to deploy capital to grow total shareholder returns.

Reflecting our focus on execution together with continuing deleveraging of our balance sheet, return on capital employed (ROCE) was 19.3%, an increase of 130bps versus the prior year.

The Board is recommending a final dividend of 22.1 pence per share. This equates to a total full year dividend of 40.0 pence per share, in line with our policy to pay out 33% of adjusted earnings per share (EPS), and represents an increase of 4% on the prior year. The final dividend will be paid on 30 May 2025 to shareholders on the register on 22 April 2025.

Safety and sustainability: Affirming our vision for a zero harm workplace

Our goal is a zero harm workplace where everyone goes home safe and healthy. In April, tragically one of our colleagues suffered a fatal accident while at work. Since then, we have held safety stand downs to discuss the learnings and re-emphasise that safety must always come first. Overall, in 2024, lost time accident numbers were flat year-on-year and our total incident rate5 (TIR) was unchanged at 0.42 (2023: 0.42). 

Within our businesses we continue to talk openly about mental health and prioritise wellbeing. We were once again recognised by CCLA as a 'top improver' for mental health in an assessment of the UK's largest companies.

We created a new inclusion, diversity and equity (ID&E) Steering Committee of representatives from our senior leadership team as part of our efforts to accelerate the benefits that come with having a vibrant purpose-driven culture.

We invested in our people, supporting a focus on talent and succession planning through learning and personal growth. Our new global mentoring programme will provide additional opportunities to connect our employees and develop mutually rewarding relationships across our workforce. We contributed to science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) initiatives across the globe, building talent and capabilities for the future.

Our employee net promoter score (eNPS) of 47 remains in the top quartile of manufacturing companies as benchmarked by Peakon. We maintain high levels of participation across our employees, with 88% responding to this year's survey.

We have continued to embed our refreshed sustainability strategy to deliver sustainable Weir and work in partnership with customers to accelerate sustainable mining. We have made great progress against our 2030 scope 1&2 Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) targets and are well on track to deliver our target to reduce these emissions by 30% versus a 2019 baseline.

Outlook: Growth in revenue, operating profit and margins in 2025

Activity levels in our mining markets are positive as customers look to invest in projects that address structural critical metal demand. Supported by favourable commodity prices, customers continue to prioritise maximising ore production and improving the efficiency of existing mine sites which, together with ongoing installed base expansion, provides a strong underpin for demand for our aftermarket solutions.

We have upgraded our total Performance Excellence savings target to £80m in 2026, with £20m of incremental savings expected in 2025. This is supported by additional capacity optimisation and lean process opportunities that have been identified as we progress with the programme. We anticipate additional exceptional costs of £30m to complete these projects, taking the total expected programme cost to £120m.

The continued favourable backdrop in mining, combined with execution of Performance Excellence, underpins our confidence in delivering 2025 operating profits in line with current market expectations, driven by mid single digit revenue growth and around 50bps of operating margin expansion. We expect free operating cash conversion of between 90% and 100%, in line with our medium-term guidance as capex settles in line with depreciation and our lean operating model continues to deliver working capital efficiency.

Further out, the long-term value creation opportunity for Weir is compelling. The fundamentals for our business are highly attractive, underpinned by long-term structural growth trends in our mining markets, and our technology strategy to accelerate sustainable mining. In addition, we expect the benefits of Performance Excellence will drive further margin expansion and move our operating margins sustainably beyond 20%, while our strong cash generation and balance sheet give us optionality to allocate capital, compounding total shareholder returns.

We are Weir strategic framework: 2024 performance

Each year the Group sets strategic and ESG measures aligned to the 'We are Weir' framework of People, Customer, Technology and Performance. The table below summarises our 2024 performance and rating against each of these measures, with full details outlined in our 2024 Annual Report.

*ESG measures

Notes:

The Group Financial Highlights and Divisional Financial Reviews include a mixture of GAAP measures and those which have been derived from our reported results in order to provide a useful basis for measuring our operational performance. Adjusted results are for continuing operations before adjusting items as presented in the Consolidated Income Statement. Details of other alternative performance measures are provided in note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release.

1. 2023 restated at 2024 average exchange rates.

2. Profit figures before adjusting items. Continuing operations statutory operating profit was £391m (2023: £368m). Total operations adjusted operating cash flow excludes additional pension contributions, exceptional and other adjusting cash items, and income tax paid. Total operations net cash generated from operating activities was £450m (2023: £394m).

3. Continuing operations excludes the Oil & Gas Division, which was sold to Caterpillar Inc. in February 2021 and the Saudi Arabian joint venture, which was sold to Olayan Financing Company in June 2021.

4. Refer to note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release for further details of alternative performance measures.

5. Total incident rate is an industry standard indicator that measures lost time and medical treatment injuries per 200,000 hours worked.

6. Market-based absolute CO2 emissions. 2019 is the baseline year for our SBTi-aligned scope 1&2 target of 30% reduction in absolute emissions by 2030.

DIVISIONAL REVIEW

Minerals

Minerals is a global leader in products and integrated solutions for smart, efficient and sustainable processing in mining and infrastructure markets.

2024 Summary

• AM orders1 +5%; demand growth driven by ore production and installed base expansion

• Revenue1 -2%; AM +3% from volume and price; OE -14% due to orderbook phasing

• Performance Excellence benefits delivering: operating profit1,2 +9%; operating margin1,2 +200bps

2024 Strategic review

We delivered a year of good strategic progress, including the award of two large orders featuring our redefined mill circuit technologies, launching our new digital brand and delivering margin progression supported by Performance Excellence workstreams. Progress across all four pillars of the We are Weir strategic framework is outlined below.

People

On safety, TIR for Minerals was 0.34 (2023: 0.34). We are continuing to implement the lessons learned as a result of the fatal incident suffered by one of our colleagues in the year and are strengthening our commitment to achieve zero harm.

Customers

We are generating high levels of customer interest with our portfolio of sustainable solutions across comminution, separation and tailings. Market acceptance of our redefined mill circuit continues to grow, offering customers reduced CO2 output, energy demand and operational costs. In 2024, OE orders for comminution doubled year-on-year. Our market-leading WARMAN® slurry pump and CAVEX® hydrocyclone separation technologies were selected by OCP Group for their greenfield phosphate projects in Morocco, a £25m order.

While investing in new growth opportunities, we continue to gain market share in large mill circuit pumps, converting over 90% of our competitive field trials in the year. In 2024, we were selected to provide the largest mill circuit pump in North America to the Highland Valley Copper project in Canada, highlighting our dedication to innovation and quality.

Technology

In September, we launched our new digital brand NEXT intelligent solutions, integrating our existing digital offerings such as Synertrex® and SentianAI to offer customers an integrated platform to help their operations run safer and more efficiently. We now have over 100 sites utilising our digital platform.

We invested in development of our redefined mill circuit products, taking lessons from the Iron Bridge project to extend our strong position in large format HPGRs. In addition, we launched our new ENDURON® Elite screen at MINExpo in September, which is one of the largest screens in the market for hard rock mining, delivering efficiency and energy savings.

Performance

The Division continues to progress key capacity optimisation workstreams, aligning the operational footprint to be closer to customers, and programmes delivering savings across the supply chain.

Within the Performance Excellence programme, the Division has rolled out its bespoke approach to lean manufacturing, Weir Integrating Network System (WINS), across several of our operational sites which has resulted in a significant reduction in the cost of poor quality, while also improving inventory turns.

On sustainability, in our continued drive to reduce our environmental footprint, the Division met its target emissions savings in the year and launched an internal ESG dashboard for several key product lines, which will allow improved ESG data monitoring and reporting across the Division's operations.

2024 Financial review

1. 2023 and 2024 H1 restated at 2024 average exchange rates except for operating cash flow.

2. Profit figures before adjusting items. Adjusted operating cash flow excludes additional pension contributions, exceptional and other adjusting cash items, and income tax paid. Refer to note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release for further details of alternative performance measures.

Orders increased by 3% on a constant currency basis at £1,860m (2023: £1,804m), with book-to-bill at 1.02 reflecting installed base expansion and strength in mining markets. OE orders decreased 3% year-on-year, driven by the phasing of large orders and market conditions in certain commodity markets such as nickel and lithium. We received two large orders for the Reko Diq and OCP projects with £42m and £25m recognised in the year, respectively. AM orders increased 5% year-on-year, reflecting installed base expansion, growth in comminution and a minor contribution from price. As expected, H2 included the remaining value of the multi-period order historically recognised fully in H1. Excluding the impact of this order, AM grew 5% sequentially in H2. For the full year, AM orders represented 74% of total orders (2023: 73%), and mining end-markets accounted for 80% of total orders (2023: 84%).

Revenue decreased 2% on a constant currency basis to £1,818m (2023: £1,848m), reflecting the expected reduction in revenue from customers in the Canadian oil sands, the absence of revenue from Russia, and OE order book phasing. Despite these headwinds, AM revenues grew by 3%, reflecting a strong performance in both South America and Australasia benefiting from growth in hard rock mining volumes and contribution from price realisation. Full year revenue mix moved towards aftermarket, which accounted for 75% of revenue, up from 71% in the prior year.

Adjusted operating profit increased 9% on a constant currency basis to £383m (2023: £353m) as the Division benefited from incremental Performance Excellence savings and strong operational execution.

Adjusted operating margin on a constant currency basis was 21.1% (2023: 19.1%). The year-on-year improvement of 200bps reflects strong business execution, incremental savings from Performance Excellence, and the benefit from revenue mix shifting towards aftermarket.

Adjusted operating cash flow increased by 9% to £455m (2023: £418m) reflecting growth in operating profit and a decrease in the working capital outflow to £4m (2023: £26m). Working capital movements include an increase in creditors reflecting phasing of purchases offset by an increase in inventory and debtors impacted by order book phasing.

ESCO

ESCO is a global leader in ground engaging tools (GET), attachments, and artificial intelligence and machine vision technologies that optimise productivity for customers in global mining and infrastructure markets.

2024 Summary

• Orders1 -1%, growth in core GET and dredge solutions offset by mining attachments

• Revenue1 +1%, growth in key mining products and dredge solutions

• Strong operational execution: operating profit1,2 +9%; operating margin1,2 expansion +140bps

2024 Strategic review

We made strong strategic progress in the year, further improving safety performance, launching our next generation lip and GET system Nexsys™ and opening our new foundry in Xuzhou. Progress across all four pillars of the We are Weir strategic framework is outlined below.

People

Safety performance in ESCO was a highlight, with a reduction in TIR to 0.74 (2023: 0.81). This reflects strong focus across the Division and is an important step forward on our journey to delivering our ambition of zero harm.

Customers

Throughout the year, the Division grew market share in our core GET markets, winning net 118 major digger conversions, as our best-in-class wear life and total cost of ownership model continues to add value to our customers' operations. We also grew orders in the Middle East and Africa, reflecting the momentum in these regions for our market-leading product offerings.

We gained further traction with our MOTION METRICSTM digital solutions, growing our installed base and rolling out our subscription-based offering to customers.

Technology

The commercial launch of our next generation GET technology Nexsys™ was a major highlight in 2024 and we secured several orders in Q4. The technological benefits of improved wear life and reduced adapter change time follow thousands of hours of field trials, with the step change in technology resonating with customers.

We also launched our latest MOTION METRICSTM ShovelMetrics™ payload monitoring solution, which provides optimised truck loading and improved haulage efficiency for customers.

In addition, we received the first order for our next generation hydraulic excavator bucket following extensive field trials. Its lightweight design and high performance improves payload performance and dig efficiency for customers, combined with reduced energy usage and emissions, and it is an important element of the Division's sustainability offerings.

Performance

The Division made strong strides in optimising the performance in its foundry network. The new Xuzhou foundry opened in the year ahead of schedule, with production continuing to ramp up and is increasing the Division's low cost manufacturing capacity.

Progress in improving the efficiencies in our North American foundries continued in the year with improvements in both operational and quality metrics being ahead of plan.

The Division also launched its proprietary continuous improvement programme, APEX, in the year, setting core principles to drive improvements in safety, quality and efficiencies supporting several of our Performance Excellence workstreams.

2024 Financial review

1. 2023 and 2024 H1 restated at 2024 average exchange rates except for operating cash flow.

2. Profit figures before adjusting items. Adjusted operating cash flow excludes additional pension contributions, exceptional and other adjusting cash items, and income tax paid. Refer to note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release for further details of alternative performance measures.

Orders decreased 1% on a constant currency basis to £663m (2023: £671m), with book-to-bill at 0.96. This reflects strong demand for our core GET products and dredging solutions offset by normalised demand from the Canadian oil sands and a reduction in mining attachment orders. Aftermarket continues to be the largest part of ESCO accounting for 92% of total orders in the year (2023: 91%). In total, mining end-markets accounted for 70% of orders (2023: 72%) and infrastructure accounted for 26% (2023: 25%).

Revenue on a constant currency basis increased by 1% to £688m (2023: £680m) driven by growth in mining GET and dredge solutions within the Middle East and Asia Pacific. Additionally, growth in mining attachment revenues drove an increase of 9% in original equipment revenue.

Adjusted operating profit increased by 9% to £129m (2023: £118m) on a constant currency basis, as the Division benefited from Performance Excellence savings and operational efficiencies.

Adjusted operating margin on a constant currency basis was 18.8% (2023: 17.4%), with the year-on-year improvement of 140bps reflecting incremental Performance Excellence savings and operational efficiencies, despite a headwind from increased R&D spend.

Adjusted operating cash flow increased by 15% to £157m (2023: £137m) reflecting growth in operating profit and a working capital inflow of £3m (2023: outflow of £4m). Working capital movements include a reduction in inventory and increase in payables offset by an increase in receivables.

GROUP FINANCIAL REVIEW

1. 2023 restated at 2024 average exchange rates.

2. Profit figures before adjusting items. Adjusted operating cash flow excludes additional pension contributions, exceptional and other adjusting cash items, and income tax paid.

3. Continuing operations excludes the Oil & Gas Division, which was sold to Caterpillar Inc. in February 2021 and the Saudi Arabian joint venture, which was sold to Olayan Financing Company in June 2021.

4. Refer to note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release for further details of alternative performance measures.

Continuing operations orders increased 2% on a constant currency basis, reflecting continued strength in demand for our solutions. Demand for AM increased 4%, with growth in hard rock mining and a contribution from pricing. Towards the end of the year, we saw strengthening in AM orders with Q4 up 10% year-on-year and 11% sequentially. In OE, we saw an overall 4% contraction in orders. Demand for OE was driven by greenfield capital expenditure with momentum building during the second half of the year, while activity in smaller brownfield and debottlenecking projects at existing mines remain stable.

Continuing operations revenue decreased 1% on a constant currency basis, reflecting phasing of large OE shipments partially offset by AM revenues, which increased 2% on a constant currency basis. On a reported basis, revenues decreased 5%, impacted by a foreign exchange translation headwind of £108m. Overall book-to-bill was 1.01.

Continuing operations adjusted operating profit increased by £13m, 3%, to £472m on a reported basis (2023: £459m). Excluding a £26m foreign currency translation headwind, the constant currency increase is £39m, 9%. As explained further in the Divisional reviews, Minerals adjusted operating profit increased £30m on a constant currency basis to £383m (2023: £353m) as the Division benefited from incremental Performance Excellence savings and strong operational execution. ESCO adjusted operating profit increased by £11m on a constant currency basis to £129m (2023: £118m), as the Division benefited from Performance Excellence savings and operational efficiencies.

Unallocated costs at £40m have increased by £2m on a constant currency basis (2023: £38m).

Continuing operations adjusted operating margin of 18.8% is up 170bps versus last year on a constant currency basis and up 140bps as reported, reflecting the incremental benefits of Performance Excellence, as well as Minerals revenue mix moving towards aftermarket.

Continuing operations adjusting items recognised in arriving at operating profit decreased by £9m to £81m (2023: £90m). Intangibles amortisation decreased to £21m (2023: £25m). Exceptional items increased by £33m to £55m (2023: £22m). Within exceptional items, costs of £36m (2023: £29m) were recognised relating to initiatives across all three pillars of our Performance Excellence programme - lean processes, capacity optimisation and functional transformation. Exceptional items in the year also included the £19m impairment of our Trio brand name following a decision to rebrand certain products within the Minerals Division and smaller amounts relating to legacy legal claims and integration costs, offset by the reversal of previously impaired receivables balances resulting from the Russia operations wind down (of which £8m was reversed in the prior year). Other adjusting items of £6m (2023: £43m) are primarily related to movements in the legacy US asbestos-related provision and associated insurance asset.

Continuing operations statutory operating profit of £391m was £23m favourable to the prior year due to the increase in reported adjusted operating profit of £13m as well as a reduction in adjusting items.

Continuing operations net finance costs were £44m (2023: £48m) with a decrease in finance costs of £1m after a foreign currency translation tailwind of £1m on US$ denominated debt. The decrease in net costs was largely due to higher finance income, driven by higher interest rates on increased cash balances in the year.

Continuing operations adjusted profit before tax was £428m (2023: £411m), after a foreign currency translation headwind of £25m. The statutory profit before tax from continuing operations of £347m compares to £321m in 2023 with the increase primarily due to higher adjusted operating profit and a decrease in adjusting items.

Continuing operations adjusted tax charge for the year of £119m (2023: £111m) on adjusted profit before tax from continuing operations of £428m (2023: £411m) represents an adjusted effective tax rate (ETR) of 27.7% (2023: 27.0%). Our ETR is principally driven by the geographical mix of profits arising in our business and, to a lesser extent, the impact of Group financing and transfer pricing arrangements.

Continuing operations adjusting items tax credit represents a tax credit of £87m (2023: £20m) which has been recognised in relation to continuing operations adjusting items and includes an exceptional tax credit of £69m in relation to the recognition of a deferred tax asset for net operating losses in the US, which arose on the disposal of Seaboard International LLC as part of the Group's divestiture of its Oil & Gas Division in 2021.

Continuing operations profit after tax before adjusting items is £310m (2023: £300m). The statutory profit after tax for the year from continuing operations is £315m (2023: £230m).

Discontinued operations statutory loss after tax for the year of £3m (2023: £1m) related to the finalisation of certain tax indemnities under the sale and purchase agreement for the Oil & Gas Division, which was disposed of in 2021.

Statutory profit for the year after tax from total operations is £313m (2023: £229m), with the increase primarily driven by the exceptional tax credit of £87m mentioned above.

Adjusted earnings per share from continuing operations increased by 4% to 120.0p (2023: 115.9p) reflecting the increased adjusted profit in the year. Statutory reported earnings per share from total operations is 121.1p (2023: 88.2p), with the increase driven by improved operating profit and the adjusting item deferred tax credit. The weighted average number of shares in issue was 257.8m (2023: 258.4m).

Cash flow and net debt

Adjusted operating cash flow increased by £65m to £591m (2023: £526m) primarily driven by the increase in adjusted operating profit, coupled with an improvement in working capital of £36m (2024: inflow of £8m vs 2023: outflow of £28m). The net working capital inflow reflects an improvement in payables, including an increase in advance payments of £29m, and inventory, partially offset by higher receivables. Working capital as a percentage of sales reduced to 20.7% (2023: 21.3%). Non-recourse invoice discounting facilities, primarily customers supply chain financing facilities, of £35m (2023: £33m) were utilised and suppliers chose to utilise supply chain financing facilities of £34m (2023: £32m). Higher cash outflows from exceptional and other adjusting items and income tax paid, partially offset by lower additional pension contributions, resulted in net cash generated from operating activities of £450m (2023: £394m).

Net capital expenditure decreased by £14m to £69m (2023: £83m) primarily as a result of completing construction of our new ESCO foundry in China in early 2024. Lease payments decreased by £6m to £25m (2023: £31m) driven by lease incentive income received in the year.

Free operating cash flow increased by £92m to £484m (2023: £392m) resulting in free operating cash conversion of 102% (2023: 85%) (refer to note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release). This exceeded our 2024 target of between 90% and 100% and reflected the previously noted improvement in cash generation, reduced capital expenditure and lower purchases of shares for employees. We continue to target free operating cash conversion for 2025 of between 90% and 100%.

Free cash flow from total operations was an inflow of £328m (2023: £238m). In addition to the movements noted above, this was primarily impacted by an increase in tax payments of £7m and higher net finance costs of £3m, partially offset by a reduction in additional pension contributions of £9m primarily due to the strength of the funding position of the UK Main Plan.

Net debt decreased by £155m to £535m (2023: £690m) and includes £127m (2023: £117m) in respect of IFRS 16 'Leases'. The movement primarily reflects free cash inflow of £328m, offset by dividends of £100m, exceptional cash flows of £31m, an increase in lease liabilities of £14m and unfavourable foreign exchange on translation of £24m. Net debt to EBITDA on a lender covenant basis reduced to 0.7 times4 (2023: 1.1 times) compared to a covenant level of 3.5 times.

As a result of strong cash generation in 2023, the Group reduced its multi-currency revolving credit facility (RCF) by US$200m to US$600m in February 2024. In March 2024, the Group exercised the option to extend its RCF by one year, which will now mature in April 2029. This extended the average tenor of the Group's debt financing and, coupled with a further year of strong cash generation, there remains in place more than £1bn of immediately available liquidity.

Pensions

The total movement in surplus across all the Group's schemes was an increase of £7m (2023: decrease of £13m), comprising a £3m surplus increase in the UK Main Scheme and a £4m deficit reduction in all other schemes. The key drivers of the £7m increase were Company contributions totalling c.£3m (2023: £13m) plus net actuarial gains of c.£5m (2023: net actuarial losses of £28m), offset by pension expenses of c.£1m (2023: £nil). For 2024, the net actuarial gain was driven by a number of factors including movements in market conditions and experience and demographic assumption updates from the latest triennial valuation of the UK Main Scheme. The net actuarial gain in the year resulted in a credit of £5m (2023: charge of £28m) being recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income.

Insurance policy assets held for the UK scheme cover c.60% (2023: 60%) of the UK's total funded obligation, reducing the Group's exposure to actuarial movements. The latest actuarial funding valuation of the UK Main Plan was completed in 2024. As the valuation reported a funding surplus, no recovery plan was required and therefore no future deficit reduction contributions are currently payable. In addition, the strength of the funding position of the ESCO defined benefit plans resulted in the Group making no additional pension cash contributions in 2024 (2023: £9m).

Appendix 1 - 2024 continuing operations3 quarterly order trends

Appendix 2 - 2024 order bridges (as reported)

Appendix 3 - Foreign exchange (FX) rates and continuing operations3 profit exposure

1. 2023 restated at 2024 average exchange rates.

2. Profit figures before adjusting items. Refer to note 2 of the Audited Results contained in this press release for further details of alternative performance measures.

3. Continuing operations excludes the Oil & Gas Division, which was sold to Caterpillar Inc. in February 2021 and the Saudi Arabian joint venture, which was sold to Olayan Financing Company in June 2021.

This information includes 'forward-looking statements'. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this presentation, including, without limitation, those regarding The Weir Group PLC's ("the Group") financial position, business strategy, plans (including development plans and objectives relating to the Group's products and services) and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These statements contain the words "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "expect" and words of similar meaning. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Group's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Group will operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this document. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Group's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based. Past business and financial performance cannot be relied on as an indication of future performance.

AUDITED RESULTS

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET

AT 31 DECEMBER 2024

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors and authorised for issue on 27 February 2025.

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The cash flows from discontinued operations included above are disclosed separately in note 7.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024