Development slowdown hits Wood Group

2nd Mar 2010 08:05

Oil services firm Wood Group pointed to a sharp reduction in development activity as it posted a fall in profits in 2009.The Aberdeen-based group posted a pre-tax profit of $264.8m for the year, down from $384.1m the previous year as revenues fell to $4.92bn from $5.24bn.Wood said a 'robust performance from production related activities' was 'offset by reduced volumes and margins in development related businesses.'The company said it expects to see lower volumes in engineering in 2010, with activity beginning to recover in the second half of the year, while production related activities, which now account for 56% of revenues, should provide a further robust performance.'Wood Group's focus on production support, the increasing differentiation of our services, our market leading positions and our good international spread will continue to stand us in good stead in 2010,' said chairman Sir Ian Wood and chief executive Allister Langlands. 'Beyond that, we believe the fundamentals for oil and gas services and gas fired power generation remain strong and we are well positioned to deliver good longer term growth.'