Good trading in the first half, full year outlook confirmed
John Wood Group has announced a trading update for the half year ended 30 June 2023 (‘HY23’), and quarter ended 30 June 2023 (‘Q2’), including the headline draft financial results.
Highlights
- Good trading in the first half of the year across all business units
- HY23 revenue c.$2.9 billion, up around 15% (+18% at constant currency) with good growth in all business units
- HY23 adjusted EBITDA c.$195 million, up around 6% (+10% at constant currency)
- Headcount up 5%(1) to around 35,600 people
- Momentum in strategic delivery
- Significant contract wins including a c.$250 million Operations renewal, a significant life sciences contract in USA, and a large minerals contract in Europe
- Over a third of bidding pipeline from sustainable solutions(2), up from c.30% at year end
- Cash flow story unchanged
- Net debt (excl. leases) at 30 June 2023 around $650 million(3,4), reflecting the expected cash outflow in HY23 (see page 2)
- Expect to generate positive free cash flow in the second half of 2023, and no change to full year expectations
- On-track to deliver positive free cash flow in 2024, as previously guided
- Full year outlook confirmed
Ken Gilmartin, CEO, said:
'We are making good progress in delivering on the growth strategy we outlined last November. Trading shows continued good growth and margins in line with our expectations. We have won a number of significant contracts in energy, minerals and life sciences during the period, all testament to the exciting position Wood holds in its key growth markets. As we look ahead, we are confident of our delivery both for the full year and medium term, including a return to generating positive free cash flow'.
Significant contract wins in HY23
The order book at 30 June 2023 was around $6 billion, up 3% on a constant currency basis and excluding the Gulf of Mexico business5. Significant contract wins in the first half of this year included:
- Two-year c.$250 million contract extension with a major producer in South-East Asia for operations and brownfield engineering services
- Large engineering services contract with Euro Manganese for sustainable mineral processing
- Significant life sciences engineering contract in the USA with GSK worth around $50 million
- Expansion support for Chevron’s Renewable Energy Group’s biofuel facility
Click here for full announcement
Source: Wood Group
