Wood Group Profit Rises on Oil Engineering, Raises Dividend

John Wood Group Plc (WG/), a U.K. oil services provider active in Africa and the Middle East, said profit gained 56 percent in the first half.

Profit before tax and exceptional items climbed to $160 million from $102.7 million a year earlier, the Aberdeen, Scotland-based company said in a statement. It raised the interim dividend by 46 percent to 5.7 cents a share.

The company slipped 0.9 percent to 828 pence in London, bringing the stock’s gains this year to 29 percent.

“The shares have outperformed strongly because of the engineering division and it may be people were expecting further good news,” Chief Executive Officer Allister Langlands said on a conference call. “Overall we’re expecting full-year performance in line with expectations.”

The engineering unit’s earnings before interest, taxes and amortization will gain about 30 percent this year compared with 2011, Wood Group said June 29. Concerns the world economy will falter haven’t affected Wood Group’s business, Langlands said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Swint in London at bswint@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net