Wood Group reports $89m profit in interim results
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Ken Gilmartin
Wood Group has posted a $89 million (c.£76m) profit for the six months ended 30 June 2022, up from an $11m (c.£9m) loss for the same period last year.
The group’s H1 2022 revenue has fallen marginally by 0.4% to $2.56bn (c.£2.17bn) from $2.57bn (c.£2.18) in H1 2021. However, the order book has grown 4.7% to $6.42bn (c.£5.45bn) signalling a positive outlook for H2 2022 and beyond.
The firm has forecast that revenues will grow to between $5.2bn (c.£4.4bn) and $5.5bn (c.£4.6bn). This excludes the deal to sell its Built Environment Consulting business to WSP Global for $1.81bn (c.£1.54bn), which is expected complete around the end of Q3.
In July, the group appointed Ken Gilmartin as CEO, succeeding Robin Watson. The new CEO has signalled plans for a change in the business’ strategy.
Commenting on the results, Mr Gilmartin said: “Since becoming CEO in July, I have been really encouraged to see the improving operational momentum across our business, including some great client wins. The strong order book gives me confidence for the future but there is a lot more to do on cash generation and this is our top priority.
“We are developing an updated strategy for Wood that will draw on our core strengths, return us to growth and deliver sustainable free cash flow. We perform complex work in critical industries and our outstanding technical expertise and strong long-term client relationships position us well for growth across targeted markets.
“We have the consulting and engineering capabilities to help the world solve the global challenges of energy security, decarbonisation and energy transition. I look forward to sharing our plans at our capital markets day in November.
“In the meantime, we are focused on our culture and energising our people, performance excellence and strengthening our balance sheet through the completion of the sale of the Built Environment business, which we expect around the end of Q3”.
The group has announced that it will outline its updated strategy in detail on 29th November 2022 when it holds its Capital Markets Day.