14th Jan 2021 11:29
(Alliance News) - John Wood Group PLC on Thursday said its 2020 performance was "resilient" in the face of Covid-19 uncertainty and oil price weakness, but the energy services and infrastructure group expects double-digit profit and revenue falls.
Revenue of USD7.6 billion is expected for 2020, 23% down from USD9.89 billion from a year earlier.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization are expected to land in the range of USD620 million and USD640 million, so at best it will be towards the bottom of the consensus range of USD634 million and USD677 million. John Wood's adjusted Ebitda in 2019 was USD855 million.
Operating profit before exceptional items is tipped by John Wood to come in between USD215 million and USD235 million, so in line with the consensus range of USD152 million and USD264 million. John Wood's forecast would at best signal a 43% fall from USD411 million in 2019.
John Wood posted a "resilient performance in a challenging trading environment" in 2020.
"Against a backdrop of the impact of Covid-19 and oil price volatility, we have benefited from our strategy to broaden our capabilities across diverse energy and built environment markets," the company added.
The company said its order book at the end of November stood at USD6.2 billion, down 22% from December 2019.
John Wood added :"Whilst the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 remain uncertain, we have seen some signs of markets stabilising with order book reflecting our expectation of continued strength in the built environment and resilience in renewables & other energy markets. However, the risks of downward scope variations and deferrals we flagged at the half year are evident in delays to larger project awards in upstream oil & gas and some deferrals of investment decisions in chemicals & downstream."
Shares in the company were 3.1% lower at 342.50 pence each in London on Thursday morning.
By Eric Cunha; [email protected]
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