Wood Group earnings drop amid weak oil prices

(ShareCast News) - Oil services firm Wood Group reported a drop in earnings for 2015 amid significantly reduced customer activity, as weak oil prices took their toll.For the year ended 31 December, earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation fell 14.5% to $469.7m (£333m), which was in line with the company's guidance.Total revenue, meanwhile, fell to $5.85bn from $7.62bn.The company said conditions in oil and gas markets became increasingly challenging in 2015, with oil prices down by around a further 30% and exploration and production capital expenditure down around 20%.It said the expectation of a lower-for-longer commodity price environment has led many global E&P customers to reassess capex and opex spending plans, with industry commentators anticipating further spending reductions in 2016.Wood Group said it has cut its underlying headcount by more than 8,000 people - or 20% since the end of 2014.Still, the firm said it was seeing more resilient demand for its services in other markets and declared a total dividend for the year of 30.3 cents a share, which is a 10% increase from the previous year.The company also said it intends to raise the dividend for 2016 by a double-digit percentage.Chief executive Robin Watson said: "Our continued actions to reduce costs, improve efficiency and broaden our service offering through organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions, position us as a strong and balanced business in both the current environment and for when market conditions recover."