Merrill Lynch has joined the stockbrokers who continue to rate Powerscreen as a long-term buy for investors. The brokers believe the long troubled group is off the critical list financially and should yield healthy returns for investors in the long term.

The company is in the process of disposing of a number of non-core businesses which should substantially reduce its debts by year end. Its underlying trading performance remains good and is expected to continue into next year.

The change in the company's financial circumstances has prompted Merrill Lynch to recommend the stock.

It is currently trading at around 88p with Merrill Lynch forecasting it has the potential to rise to 100p over the next 12 months.