Wood Group stalls payout as Covid fallout weighs on sales

Business

Graeme Evans @EvansOnTheMoney

OIL services firm Wood Group has held off paying an interim dividend after the pandemic hit first-half revenues. The Aberdeen-based consulting and engineering firm suffered a 23% slump in turnover to $3.2 billion (£2.3 billion) for the six months to June 30. It blamed the impact from Covid-19 as well as a £54 million loss of revenues from the sale of parts of the business. This left the group with bottom line losses of £8.3 million. Underlying earnings — the group’s preferred measure — fell 14% to £191 million. The group held off from paying any interim dividend as its results continued to show the effects of the pandemic, with full-year sales set to fall. CEO Robin Watson said: “Trading momentum and good growth in our order book, which is up around 18% year-to-date, underpin our confidence in delivering a stronger second half which will reflect a return to growth.” Despite the signs of a pick-up in activity, shares in the firm — which are down 25% this year — fell more than 3% to 221.34p in early trading. Wood Group recently secured the first Government-backed “green transition loan” in a deal worth £430 million, committing to increasing its clean energy portfolio and slashing emissions.