Revenue at Aberdeen-headquartered John Wood Group has risen to nearly £5bn, with sustainable solutions representing nearly a quarter (22%) of the group's revenue.

The net zero arm of the business, which provides solutions across decarbonisation, energy transition and materials for a net zero world, generated $1.3bn (£1.03bn), a 15% increase on the previous year.

A number of contract wins, including a new global framework agreement with Shell and a new strategic partnership with Harbour Energy worth around £260m, boosted growth.

Wood's order book of $6.3bn (£4.98bn) was up 7% on a like-for-like basis, while operating profit of $38m (£30.04m) compared to a loss the year prior.

Year of improvement

Wood has also secured a new global framework agreement with Shell, detailed engineering design work for Woodside's Trion project in the Gulf of Mexico, and a near-£200million extension to a brownfield engineering services contract in Southeast Asia.

It is also celebrating a number of big contract wins for its materials business, which represents 34% of its future pipeline. That work includes a £40million deal to work with Glaxo SmithKline (GSK) in the United States.

The London listed company has also started to generate significant revenues in its sustainable solutions arm, which is focussed on decarbonisation, energy transition and materials for a net zero world. It generated around £1billion of sustainable solutions revenue in 2023, up 15% on last year.

Wood CEO Ken Gilmartin said: "We made significant progress in this first year of our three-year growth strategy. We delivered strong revenue and adjusted EBITDA growth, and we significantly improved operating cash flow.

"We continue to see clear business momentum, with a higher order book, double-digit growth in our pipeline and positive pricing trends in both pipeline and order book. It is encouraging that the fastest growing parts of Wood are the higher-margin consulting business, and our sustainable solutions across all areas.

"To build on this early success and further enhance our strategic delivery, we have launched a simplification programme to drive efficiency and support further margin expansion. We are therefore upgrading our outlook, with 2024 guidance now towards the top end of our medium-term targets and 2025 expected to exceed those targets. Ultimately, our priority remains sustainable cash generation and we expect to deliver significant free cash flow from 2025."

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