13th May 2021 09:56
(Alliance News) - John Wood Group PLC on Thursday said the first quarter of 2021 was slower than anticipated but with improving momentum.
The Aberdeen, Scotland-based engineering and consulting business reported an order book of USD7.1 billion, up 9% on December 31, with good growth in its Consultancy and Operations divisions.
John Wood said that, on a like for like basis, excluding the impact of disposals completed in the first three months of 2021, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization margins have remained relatively robust.
The FTSE 250 company's overall outlook for 2021 of lower activity remains unchanged, with anticipation of increased activity in Consulting driven by continued strength in built environment activity.
Lower activity is forecast in the Projects arm, as larger contracts in process & chemicals roll off and new awards in process & chemicals and conventional energy are limited to smaller, early stage scopes.
Strength in Operations, meanwhile, is expected to be driven by a recovery in demand in conventional energy and growth in process & chemicals, which is supported by improving momentum in the order book.
John Wood said it expects Ebitda margin to grow modestly with the improvement driven by maintaining high utilisation, improved project execution, operational and efficiency improvements, and its business mix orientating more towards higher-margin Consulting.
The stock was trading 5.1% lower in London on Thursday morning at 270.70 pence each.
By Evelina Grecenko; [email protected]
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