Wood Group to take $100m charge on Aegis project, delays results

UK energy services provider John Wood Group on Tuesday said it expected to take a one-off $100m charge relating to its Aegis Poland contract as it estimates a bigger loss for the legacy Amec Foster Wheeler project.

Losses at Aegis Poland, which involves the construction of buildings to house the Aegis Ashore anti-missile defence facility for the US Army Corps of Engineers, was estimated at $222m from a prior forecast of $133 million due to higher costs.

Wood, which took over smaller rival Amec Foster Wheeler in 2017, said an external probe and review is underway relating to the historical value of Aegis Poland, delaying the release of its annual results that was scheduled for March 8.

It said the project was about 90% complete by value at the end of December and was expected to be operationally complete in the second half of the year.

The London-listed engineering and consulting group said this charge reflects the latest estimate of the expected loss at the project's completion, and involves additional cash outflow of $20m.

Wood Group added that its expectations for underlying 2021 results and the outlook for 2022 remain unchanged.