Member Info for JamesOxford

IceChicken Pokerchips has batted back on every point (bowl) you have made and in many cases hit your balls for 4s and 6s. Surely, you can come back out to the wicket and bowl him a few bouncers in reply?!

@IceCool It looks like you still have Pokerchipes in the 'green bin'? C'mon IceChicken get your head out of the sand, straighten up your feathers and get pecking back! 'Bok, bok, Pokerchips baaawwwkkk!!!'. Lol

@Jollypaddleboard 'JO. Anyone involved in corporate finance will know you are NOT"

Says the paddleboarder! What part of my summary posted previously do you disgree with and why?

JO would rate Wood's audited accounts as 'fair', which is a step up from my expectations. A few points of immediate note:

Wood's order book and revenues can be regarded as 'steady', which is better than expected.

Wood's asset disposals of $275 million are either banked or on the way to being banked, which will please Wood, and its lenders at least to a certain extent.

Wood's cash flow position is of serious concern at -$404 million as at HY2025 and the commentary around that, especially by Wood's acknowledgement of its lack of access to receivables finance through this period to the tune of $150 million. This continues Wood's track-record management of cash flow negative since 2017 to date, and will be of serious concern for all Wood's lenders.

Wood's writedown of its goodwill and intangible assets to the tune of $2,214 million, as well as exceptional items of $424 million, contributed heavily to Wood's loss of $2,776 million for the FY2024.

Wood's writedown of its assets was to be expected given Sidara's requirement for Wood's auditors to publish a 'clean opinion' on Wood's balance sheet (i.e. fairly presented and free from material misstatements). Nevertheless, Wood's writedown is substantial to say the least. On the positive, it means that Wood's skeletons ought to have now been vanquished as far as Wood's balance sheet is concerned, however the only 'beneficiary' of that may be Sidara, as it helps support their offer on the table.

Wood's net debt position continues to grow year on year. Wood's net debt (excludes leases) is $1,073 million as at HY2025, which is up from $874 million as at HY2024. Interestingly, Wood's average net debt (excludes leases) throughout the HY2025 was $1,138 million, which is up from $1,052 million HY2024.

Given Wood's track record of growing net debt now at of £1 billion, poor cash-flow managment (since 2017 to date) and other factors - it is now obvious (as JO has already stated) that Wood had to off-load assets under its asset disposal program in order to shore up its balance sheet and boost liquidity.

Wood has stated that it will not provide a forward statement due to 'uncertainty' around its future. However, that is not unusual in takeover situations.

So where does all this leave Wood and its investors?

To JO it is obvious.

Wood will be sold to Sidara (I am 90% sure of this). I can see no other alternative other than another bidder (I am 10% sure of this) at the 11th hour. It is for this reason JO will wait until 11 or 12 November, before voting. Hopefully another cash-offer will arrive that beats Sidara's offer by then. If not, JO will vote in favour of Sidara's current offer.

The fact is that the love triangle of Wood, Sidara and Wood's lenders have been working towards Sidara's takeover for mo

@bvcx70 'Just read the message properly, his/her attention to detail as to dates is just messed up, that’s just the simple stuff.'

I meant to say 'I expect an RNS by COB Tuesday to say that Wood will trade from Wednesday 5 November? This looks likely IMO'.

For the avoidence of doubt James Oxford is definately a he, him, his, sir, and Mr.

As for you bvcx70 one cannot be sure...could be a him, her, they, it them...but probably most likely an AI bot! Lol

@Rock Certainly when Wood shares start to trade once more, it will immediately enter into auction possibly up to the first 30 minutes, as Wood's share price quickly scrambles upwards from 18p to circa 27p. Heck it may even settle slightly above 30p on occasions...

As JO mentioned previously, in order for Sidara to buy Wood up for 30p per share, Sidara ought to buy Wood shares via its nominated brokers in order to use these shares to vote in favours of Sidara’s offer. Sidara will pay anything under 30p per share (but not over 30p share for obvious reasons), which ought to create continued and support around the 27-30p mark during the offer period. To ensure a favourable vote, Sidara ought to want to own circa 25-29% Wood shares prior to 17 November. There ought to be plenty of Wood investors who will to sell before 17 November and invest elsewhere. For Sidara, every Wood share bought by them prior to the vote on 17 November for under 30p is a considerable win to Sidara...after all, upon a successful vote, Sidara will recieve 30p for every share it owns...game, set match Sidara.

It is important for Wood investors to remember that Sidara did not create this mess - they have simply offered what they think Wood is worth along with a finanicial lifeline. The fact is that Wood created it's own mess via a series of own goals - the likes of which even the most experienced investors have seldom seen before. At any time, Wood could have booted Sidara's offer like a rugby ball into touch. However, now that Wood's audited accounts are known, it is clear why Wood and Wood's lenders have had to work with Sidara.

As for another bidder - only a 10% chance of that - if it does happen, we can only hope any such bidder makes a move and better Sidara's offer and very, very quickly!

Can we expect an RNS by COB tomorrow Tuesday to say that Wood will trade from Wednesday 4 November? This looks likely IMO.

@Icecool 'I’ve said from the start the votes are heavily in my favour, the numbers back it up. Based on the clean audit and the disposal cash dropping, I’m giving it 70% odds of a No vote. If the price action is aggressive on trading, that will rise considerably' and 'damn i should have used the 🔫 ****… that’s frustrating. 🤣🤣💯'

Icecool...dear Icecool...you can leave your ray-gun, your rubber-ducky and kermit the frog in your toy box next to your bath-tub!

Now, JO's brief summary of Wood's audited accounts at the start of this thread (and subsequent posts on this thread)...

Let's play out the obvious on the votes shall we...

I expect Wood the start to trade on Tuesday, or Wednesday at the latest.

Wood's shorts will close their positions quick smart.

In terms of Wood's share price. It ought to quickly climb to circa 27p, just under Sidara's 30p offer.

Now, this is where is can be very interesting indeed.

In order for Sidara to buy Wood up for 30p per share, Sidara can choose to buy/own Wood shares via its nominated brokers in order to use these shares to vote for Sidara’s offer.

If/as this comes to pass, Sidara will pay anything under 30p per share, which ought to create support around the 27-30p (maybe a tad higher) during the offer period.

Sidara ought to want to own say 25-29% Wood shares if possible in order be assured of a ‘Yes’ vote.

This is entirely possible, as there ought to be plenty of Wood investors who will simply want to sell at circa 30p before 17 November - for the simple reason that Wood investors have had enough, and want to sell to invest elsewhere.

For Sidara, every Wood share bought by them prior to the vote on 17 November for under 30p is a considerable win to Sidara...after all, upon a successful vote, Sidara will recieve 30p for every share it owns.

If anyone has any doubts at all that Wood will be sold to Sidara...take heed of the above.

It ain't over till the fat lady sings...however, the fat lady may well turn out to be Sidara herself!

With that - I am off to bed and will be away until tomorrow night. 'Same bat time, same bat channel' Lol

@Icecool JO says it the vote will be 'Yes'.

No flip-flops allowed Icecool, so right back at you..Does Icecool say the vote will be 'No?

@Icecool 'Let’s be honest, the odds are firmly stacked on the No vote side now.' and 'Anyway, you’ve got your view and I’ve got mine, let’s just see how it plays out. The institutions will be running the numbers hard, and that’s what’ll decide this, not noise on a BB. Let the best man win.'

I know Icecool that you are deep, deep underwater here and that is a shame. However, Wood's institutional investors will indeed run the numbers...but the numbers are clear to one and all...and most importantly, the numbers are from an audited 'clean' balance sheet, so the number are indeed reliable (this time). Iain Wood's CEO is a money-man (not an oil man) and all is lined up for an orderly transition to Sidara.

It is clear that Wood's institutional investors will vote 'Yes' and write off any losses in the usual way.

It aint' over til the fat lady sings...but unless another bidder does not come to the ball (never say never), then on 17 November the fat lady will sing loud and clear!

Icecool it is what it is...

Wood's accounts and Wood's commentary around the accounts are very clear.

Wood's BOD have recommended Sidara's offer. Sidara's offer has been deemed as 'commercially fair and resasonable' by several specialist and credible advisory companies who who employed by Wood for advice on Sidara's offer.

If in doubt, always follow the money trail...

Once the vote has been concluded and is successful on 17 November: Wood's future is 100% secured with Sidara's $450 million cash injection, of which $250 million available upon shareholder approval and $200 million upon completion of the acquisition. In addition to this - upon shareholder approval - Wood's debt extension will be in place; along with a brand new $200 million 'New Money Facility'. All of this is needed by Wood for obvious reasons.

Iain the new Wood CEO is a money-man...not an oil man...not a turn-around specialist. Iain will ensure that the commercial side (and particularly around finance) of Wood will be smoothly handled during the transition phase to the Sidara umbrella.

JO would rate Wood's audited accounts as 'fair', which is a step up from my expectations. There is no to dissect the numbers in detail on this Wood discussion board - I will save that for next week in the office with a couple of my colleagues.

A few points of immediate note:

Wood's order book and revenues can be regarded as 'steady', which is better than expected.

Wood's asset disposals of $275 million are either banked or on the way to being banked, which will please Wood, and its lenders at least to a certain extent.

Wood's cash flow position is of serious concern at -$404 million as at HY2025 and the commentary around that, especially by Wood's acknowledgement of its lack of access to receivables finance through this period to the tune of $150 million. This continues Wood's track-record management of cash flow negative since 2017 to date, and will be of serious concern for all Wood's lenders.

Wood's writedown of its goodwill and intangible assets to the tune of $2,214 million, as well as exceptional items of $424 million, contributed heavily to Wood's loss of $2,776 million for the FY2024.

Wood's writedown of its assets was to be expected given Sidara's requirement for Wood's auditors to publish a 'clean opinion' on Wood's balance sheet (i.e. fairly presented and free from material misstatements). Nevertheless, Wood's writedown is substantial to say the least. On the positive, it means that Wood's skeletons ought to have now been vanquished as far as Wood's balance sheet is concerned, however the only 'beneficiary' of that may be Sidara, as it helps support their offer on the table.

Wood's net debt position continues to grow year on year. Wood's net debt (excludes leases) is $1,073 million as at HY2025, which is up from $874 million as at HY2024. Interestingly, Wood's average net debt (excludes leases) throughout the HY2025 was $1,138 million, which is up from $1,052 million HY2024.

Given Wood's track record of growing net debt now at of £1 billion, poor cash-flow managment (since 2017 to date) and other factors - it is now obvious (as JO has already stated) that Wood had to off-load assets under its asset disposal program in order to shore up its balance sheet and boost liquidity.

Wood has stated that it will not provide a forward statement due to 'uncertainty' around its future. However, that is not unusual in takeover situations.

So where does all this leave Wood and its investors?

To JO it is obvious.

Wood will be sold to Sidara (I am 90% sure of this). I can see no other alternative other than another bidder (I am 10% sure of this) at the 11th hour. It is for this reason JO will wait until 11 or 12 November, before voting. Hopefully another cash-offer will arrive that beats Sidara's offer by then. If not, JO will vote in favour of Sidara's current offer.

The fact is that the love triangle of Wood, Sidara and Wood's lenders have been working towards Sidara's takeover for months. It is now clear why

@Bob Interesting. Wood-Sidara have obviously recieved the nod of approval by institutional investors - no surprise there. However, it will be all about the price...will 30p satisfy institutional investors? Or will they refuse the first offer and ask Sidara to fork out another 10p or so? Wood's audited accounts ought to reveal all! Now JO must leave to return to this Wood chat board on Sunday. GLA

@Icecool 'RWG' meaning...? Is that short for 'Rich White Guy'? I also imagine the £105 million was part of Wood's previouly mentioned disposals, which will be taken into account by one and all...especially Wood and its lenders.

I do note that Wood's shorts appear to have decreased. Smart move. As immediately upon the open when Wood trades - as I mentioned before, Wood's share price will surge quickly to circa 27p i.e. just under Sidara's offer of 30p which is now a dead cert given Wood has publised its audited accounts without fear or favour by 31 October! Easy money to be made, if one is quick enough...hopefully JO will be quick enough to add further upon opening bell!

Now if you excuse JO, I will be back Sunday.

@Icecool "Where are the doom merchants hiding tonight? No Kando, no Jo, no Banbury..."

You are quite the joker! One minute you think JO's opinions are rubbish, next minute you want to know where JO is - I want his opinions! Lol

I have been overseas from late afternoon Thursday and have now returned back to the grey clouds of the UK! I expected Wood to publish its results on Thursday, but then tought more likley Friday to coincide with Halloween night! After all the previous update of note was made on Valentine's Day! The Wood BOD do have a comical (very comical) side to them after all. I did check a few times during the day on Thursday, but the results were not published. I can see the they were published after 5.30pm on Thursday...too late for me due to prior and pressing engagements. Anyway, I will look at Wood's audited accounts sometime over the weekend, and provide you with my opinion - probably SUnday night. Until then Icecool, you'll have to wait!

As for Kando and Banburyboy - you call them (and JO) 'doom merchants'. We have a difference of opinion, I would say all three are realists. Whereas, you - Icecool my fiendish friend - are a 'fantastist', but we will leave that for another day...at least until I take a look at Wood's audited accounts. After as, we all know, the numbers don't lie...or do they...? With Wood one is never entirely sure! Lol

The funny thing is that all Wood investors (JO and Icecool included) - love them or hate them - want the same thing, the best ROI possible!

GLA

@Banburyboy Why don't you start a campaign...you could call it: 'Bring Back Biden!' Lol

@Chartarex To me Sidara is the 'natural' buyer and Wood will fit nicely into their portfolio. As for other bidders, initially I thought maybe Apollo could come to the party. Maybe Worsley. Maybe private equity probably from the US. It really does depend on Wood's audited accounts and the commentary around that. We will know soon enough! Either way, as investors we all want the same thing, maximum ROI...fingers crossed for more than 30p!

@Icecool 'Oh come on, JO ffs you’ve been certain about every dead end narrative since May and been wrong every single time. You said Ken wouldn’t be purged, he’s gone. You said there’d be no lender extension, there was. You said no disposals, we got $275m.'

You have simply made all that up...trying to put words ion my mouth again. Lol

It was you who called for the entire BOD to be sacked at an EGM...didn't happen. The fact is almost the entire BOD resigned of their own accord for one reason or another. Wood's lenders have continued and will continue to support Wood while Sidara remains set to buy Wood. As for disposals, Wood's own RNS announced disposals of circa $200M very early on, so no surprises when the disposals were announced. The fact remains that the disposals will not be enough...no where near enough. You seem to forget that Wood's debt is a massive $1.5 to $1.6 BILLION! I will indeed continue to spout the 'dead end' narrative, as Wood is clearly at the end of the rope. Read Wood's own RNS releases without rose-coloured glasses on - and it's all there in stark black and white. The fact remains that the only reason Sidara has not bought Wood far earlier is due to Wood's own series of self-goals, which makes it imposssible for Sidara or any bidder to buy Wood until Wood sorts itself out...starting with Wood's audited accounts.

I bought into Wood when I saw the Valentine's Day masacre whereby Wood's stock was dumped. I topped up massivley at circa 19p in the final few days prior to suspension and I am very comfortable with my position here. Meanwhile, ever since Wood's Valentine's Day masacre, you have been bleating on about 'fundamentals' and 'nothing to see here', then when it was obvious Wood's fundamentals were about as reliable as an ashtray on a motorbike, you switched tactics to 'transparency' along with all many of fantasy-land scenarios Plan A, Plan B, Plan F. Whereas, I have remained steadfast throughout that Wood will be sold to Sidara or the next highest bidder. End of. The rest is all noise as far as I am concerned. Without another bidder, it will be game, set, match Sidara. Like it or lump it, it will happen.

Anyway, lets' wait and see what happends with the publication of Wood's accounts and business update on Halloween! That will most likely determine whether or not Wood's institutional investors will vote 'Yes' for Sidara's deal and write off their losses, or if it justifies a 'No' vote in order for Sidara to up its offer. And before you twist my words again to suit your own narrative, any rejection will be designed to attract a higher offer. Iain is NOT an oil man, he is alos NOT a turn-around specialst, he is the money-man and will work to present Wood in the best possible light in order to attract the higest bidder/s and that is all. If you were better connected you would know that.

One of us will be right. I am confident in my position. Are you? You seem to be a Starmer flip-flopper! Lol

JO flustered? Never. There is no delay, Wood always said audited accounts by 31 October. Unlike one or two posters here I do not live in fantasy-land. A certain frosty poster here thinks that Iain in charge of Wood means a whole new direction. Wrong. Iain has been and always will be a money-man, not an oil man. Heck even Kenny-boy was no oil man...and look how Wood ended up under his watch!

Iain from the start of his appointment to date is there for one reaosn only, to ensure Wood is sold for the highest price possible. No no re-set, no turn-around. Just because there is a new Captain at the helm, does not mean a re-set. Wood is too far down the road now - in more ways than one - to be anything but sold. The real question is will another bidder other than Sidara throw their hat and loose change into the ring?!

@Icecool To be fair all you have always bleated on about is 'Look at Wood's FUNDAMENTALS!!!' It was only recentley as the wheels started to fall off the Wood wagon that you abandoned you 'fundamentals' waffle and started to carry on about 'transparency' as the 'fundamentals' you bleeted on about was not worth the paper it was written on. Deloitees saw to that with its findings/results, followed by the FCA with its investigation still ongoing. All we do know is that Wood's audited accounts are so bad that it has breached its own Articles of Association. As for the detail, it looks like we will find that out on 31 October, Halloween...how apt! Now will Wood' suadited accounts and business update offer its shareholders a 'Trick or Treat?!' Lol

The looonnnggg wait will soon be over, and Wood's audited accounts will soon be revealed to one and all. The fat lady will enter the stage!

Whatever happens with Wood's accounts and commentary around that, and any business updates...JO is unlikely to vote until one day prior to the deadline. Why? As we know, with Wood anything can happen!

GLA