Wood Group wins contract with OMV Petrom, Serco flags full-year operating profit growth

Stocks to watch

John Wood Group on Thursday said it had won a contract by OMV Petrom for a major project to boost production of sustainable fuel in Southeast Europe. After successful delivery of the front-end engineering and design, Wood will now deliver engineering, procurement and construction management to install a new bio-hydrotreater unit and relevant storage facilities at the Petrobrazi refinery in Romania. No financial details were disclosed.

Serco said in a trading update on Thursday that it was anticipating 2024 revenue of £4.8bn, with organic declines moderating in the second half, as well as a 9% increase in underlying operating profit to £270m, driven by improved efficiency and productivity. It upgraded its free cash flow guidance to £170m, while net debt was forecast to be £145m. For 2025, Serco said it expected stable revenue and resilient profitability despite challenges in its UK and Australian immigration contracts, supported by a strong pipeline of new business opportunities.

Newspaper round-up

Households in England and Wales will see their water bills rise by an average of £31 a year, as suppliers pay to fix leaky pipes and cut pollution. The industry regulator Ofwat said on Thursday it would allow companies to raise average bills by £157 over five years to an average of £597 by 2030 to help pay for investment. – Guardian

The damage from Brexit to trade links with the EU cost the UK £27bn in the first two years, but the overall impact was more limited than forecasters first estimated, according to the most comprehensive review of the issue since Britain fully left the bloc at the start of 2021. Researchers based at the London School of Economics found that trade barriers had been a “disaster” for small businesses and had forced thousands to stop trading with EU nations. – Guardian

Britain’s energy watchdog is set to be handed stronger powers as Ed Miliband battles to lower bills as part of an election manifesto pledge. On Thursday, the Government launched a review into the future of Ofgem, which could result in the regulator getting more power to force companies to compensate customers directly when things go wrong. – Telegraph

The Observer has appointed its first female editor in more than a century following its controversial sale to loss-making start-up Tortoise. Lucy Rock, who is currently acting editor of The Observer, will do the job permanently at the Sunday newspaper. James Harding, the former BBC News chief who leads Tortoise, will become editor-in-chief. – Telegraph

The chief executive of Imperial Brands, the maker of Gauloises and JPS cigarettes, has seen his total pay reach more than £9 million, making him one of the best-paid bosses on the FTSE 100. Stefan Bomhard, 57, was paid almost £9.1 million for the year to the end of September, up from £8.9 million the previous year and £3.4 million in 2021, his first full year in charge. – The Times

US close

Major indices closed sharply lower on Wednesday as market participants digested comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 2.58% at 42,326.87, while the S&P 500 lost 2.95% to 5,872.16 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 3.56% weaker at 19,392.69.

The Dow tumbled 1,123.03 points on Wednesday, extending losses recorded in the previous session.

Stocks were firmly in the red at the close of trading on Wednesday after the US central bank cut rates as expected but policymakers indicated that they were now anticipating fewer reductions in 2025.

Furthermore, macroeconomic projections from the Federal Reserve's board members and regional presidents showed that they were also anticipating slightly higher inflation during the following year.