Queensland coal and WA wind farm contracts ahead of Christmas adds $843m to Macmahon’s stocking

Shares in Macmahon have hit a 13-year high after the mining services group extended a lucrative coal contract in Queensland and won wind farm work in WA. Macmahon on Wednesday revealed that long-time client Byerwen had awarded it a new three-year contract to provide open cut services — including load and haul, and crusher feed — at a coking coal mine in the Bowen Basin. Macmahon has been on site since the mine — jointly owned by QCoal Group and Japanese steel manufacturer, JFE Steel — started in 2017 and currently provides employment for 545 staff. The new contract will extend work beyond December and is valued at $792 million. An option to extend for two years would take the value of the contract to a little over $1.3 billion. “We are very pleased to finalise the contract at Byerwen, where we have worked providing mining services since the mine commenced operations in 2017,” said Macmahon managing director Michael Finnegan. “The QCoal relationship and Byerwen project are incredibly important to Macmahon and have helped underpin the company’s continued growth over the last nine years.” It wasn’t the only festive cheer being spread at Macmahon’s headquarters at Perth Airport. Osborne Park-based subsidiary Decmil has picked up $51m worth of work from Tilt Renewables to complete the 108 megawatt Waddi wind farm in WA’s Mid West. The contract forms part of a $91m joint venture with fellow engineering outfit RJE for balance of plant work at the project near Dandaragan, including design and construction of wind turbine bases, access tracks, site cabling and a switch room. The works to be undertaken by Decmil will commence in early 2026 and are expected to be completed by early 2027. “This award demonstrates Decmil’s strength in civil construction in the renewables sector, in line with our strategy to expand our Australian civil infrastructure business,” Mr Finnegan said. Macmahon acquired Decmil last year in a deal worth about $127 million. Macmahon’s shares were up 3.4 per cent in early Wednesday trade to 60.5¢ — its highest point since April 2012. The stock has more than doubled over the past six months, and it is up about 70 per cent for the year. Local mining services companies across the board have experienced a bumper 2025. Perenti has added 90 per cent so far this year, while NRW Holdings and Monadelphous achieved share price records last month.