LONDON -- John Wood Group (WG -1.84%) announced today that it is confident it will achieve full-year performance in line with expectations.
The international energy services company -- which operates three core business units -- said that performance in its Wood Group Engineering and Wood Group PSN divisions is on pace; however, Wood Group GTS is behind plan and has extra ground to cover. A trading update for the first half of the year is scheduled for June 26, 2013.
Wood Group, which employs nearly 43,000 people in 50 countries worldwide, currently posts about US$7 billion in annual sales. It provides a range of engineering, production support, maintenance management and industrial gas turbine overhaul and repair services to the oil and gas, and power generation industries worldwide.
Wood Group has an engineering heritage that dates back to 1912. The company has posted a strong 10-year average total return and has steadily increased its dividend payments in recent years -- indeed, loyal shareholders in the oil and gas group have seen the value of their shares rise by 400% in the past 10 years.
For new investors, however, it looks less attractive today. The firm's price-to-earnings ratio of 20 and forward dividend yield of just 1.7% make it look expensive for new money, and this investment remains vulnerable to shifts in the price of oil and gas, which can make profits volatile.
Perhaps it's for these reasons that Wood Group did not make the cut as an Ultimate Retirement Share in our latest investing report. But five other big-name U.K. shares did, and you can get the full details immediately when you request your copy of "5 Shares to Retire On". It's free to download and there's no obligation to subscribe, so click here for your free copy.
