Interim Results - Part 1

Wood Group (John) PLC
08 September 2003



                              John Wood Group PLC

                Interim results for the six months to June 2003
                       $100m of new long term contracts


John Wood Group PLC ('Wood Group') is a market leader in the provision of
engineering design, production support and industrial gas turbine services to
customers in the oil & gas and power generation industries around the world.
Operating in 34 countries, Wood Group's businesses employ over 12,000 people.


Financial highlights

•  Revenues up 17% to $947.0 million (2002: $812.7 million)

•  EBITA*1 up 18% to $73.0 million (2002: $61.7 million)

•  Profit before tax up 14% to $58.0 million (2002: $50.9 million)

•  Diluted earnings per share pre-amortisation*2 up 8% to 8.4 cents (2002:
   7.8 cents)

•  Investment and capital spend of $65.2 million (2002: $59.5 million)

•  Interim dividend up 10% to 1.1 cents per share (2002: 1.0 cents per
   share)


Operating highlights

$100m of new long-term contracts announced today (see separate press release for
further information).  In Well Support a $50m, five year contract to operate and
maintain ESPs for Repsol in Argentina and in Gas Turbine Services a $50m, eight
year contract to maintain a fleet of gas turbines for a leading US power utility

Engineering & Production Facilities

•  Revenues increased 15% to $523m and EBITA increased 20% to $47.8m

•  Working on more than 60% of current Deepwater projects in Gulf of
   Mexico and expanding internationally, with contract wins in West Africa and 
   Asia Pacific

•  Strong performance in production facilities in the North Sea and
   Colombia, new contract win in West Africa

Well Support

•  Revenues increased 6% to $191.0 million and EBITA increased 29% to
   $13.4 million

•  ESP and Pressure Control have made good progress internationally; with
   new contract wins in Argentina, including a $50m, five year contract to 
   operate and maintain ESPs for Repsol in Argentina announced today, and Saudi 
   Arabia

•  Pressure Control acquisition of Barber Industries to increase
   penetration in Canadian market

Gas Turbine Services

•  Revenues increased 36% to $216.2 million and EBITA increased 4% to
   $21.9 million

•  Significant progress with the award of several new long term service
   agreements.


Sir Ian Wood, Chairman, Wood Group, commented:

'I am pleased to report another strong operating and financial performance,
combined with steady progress towards our long term objectives.

'Looking further ahead, we intend to continue to build our global presence,
enhance the differentiation of our products & services and extend our market
leadership.  We are confident that our strong management team will continue to
grow our business and increase shareholder value.'



Information:

Wood Group
Sir Ian Wood               Chairman and Chief Executive        01224 851 000
Allister Langlands         Deputy Chief Executive
Alan Semple                Finance Director

Analysts:                  Chris Watson/ Nick Gilman           01224 851 440/404
Media:                     Carolyn Smith                       01224 851 099


Brunswick
Stuart Bruseth                                                 020 7404 5959
Katya Reynier


*1 EBITA represents operating profit before amortisation and share of associates
(see reconciliation in note 2 of the interim accounts).  This financial term is
provided as it is the key unit of measurement used by the company in the
management of its business.  Operating profit for the period was $67.4m (2002:
$58.8m).

*2 Diluted earnings per share pre amortisation is calculated on earnings
excluding goodwill amortisation and is based on the diluted number of shares,
taking account of share options where the effect of these is dilutive (see
reconciliation in note 4 of the interim accounts).  Diluted earnings per share
for the six months to June 2003 were 6.9 cents (2002: 6.5 cents).



Interim Statement

We are pleased to announce another strong operating and financial performance,
combined with steady progress towards our long term objectives.

In the six months to June 2003, revenues increased 17% to $947.0 million (2002:
$812.7 million), earnings before interest, tax and amortisation ('EBITA')
increased 18% to $73.0 million (2002: $61.7 million) and pre-tax profits were
14% ahead at $58.0 million (2002: $50.9 million).

Our focus remains on developing our market leadership and differentiation in our
five long-term growth areas in oil & gas and power:

•  deepwater topsides, subsea and offshore pipeline engineering;

•  production support and enhancement;

•  well support internationalisation;

•  industrial gas turbines aftermarket;

•  outsourcing and managed services.

Worldwide oil & gas markets on the whole remained robust, showing good overall
growth in the period, notwithstanding economic, political and commodity price
uncertainty in some areas.  Power markets outside North America continued their
steady growth, but the ongoing generating capacity surplus in North America is
still causing deferrals of maintenance.

Capital spend in the period totalled $65.2 million (2002: $59.5 million),
including the purchase of KCI and Barber Industries, and the final capital
expenditure on BP Colombia's Florena and Recetor projects.  Following this
investment, gearing as at 30 June 2003 was 42% with interest cover of 10.1
times.

The directors have declared an interim dividend of 1.1 cents per share (2002:
1.0 cents per share) which will be payable to shareholders on the register on 26
September 2003 and will be paid on 16 October 2003.



Engineering & Production Facilities

Engineering and Production Facilities continued its successful growth during the
period.  Revenues increased 15% to $523.0 million (2002: $456.4 million) and
EBITA increased 20% to $47.8 million (2002: $39.9 million) with EBITA margins
increasing slightly to 9.1% (2002: 8.7%).

In deepwater we continue to enjoy a strong position.  In the Gulf of Mexico, we
are working on more than 60% of current Deepwater projects.  In West Africa work
on Chevron Texaco's Agbami and Benguela-Belieze projects continues, while in
Asia Pacific we have recently completed work on Unocal's West Seno development
and begun work on Murphy's Kikeh discovery.  Generally, industry estimates of
future deepwater expenditure remain high, with overall spend in the period to
2007 anticipated to be in excess of $50 billion.  Recent industry reports
indicate delays in some of the larger deepwater projects and this could have
some effect on Mustang and Alliance next year.

In our other Engineering activities, we worked on a large number of projects,
including BP's Tangguh pipeline in Indonesia and the Phu My pipeline in Vietnam.
In August 2003, Vepica received a letter of intent covering the provision of
engineering & project management services for the Conoco Phillips Coro Coro
development in offshore Venezuela.  We are also further extending our upstream
expertise into midstream and downstream engineering activities.

In the North Sea, our overall levels of activity remained high.  BP's Clair
project is progressing well and we are now supporting Apache on the former BP
Forties Field assets.  In addition, we have been awarded a 5 year contract by
Total covering the provision of engineering and construction services for all of
their UK North Sea assets and in May we extended our North Sea engineering
operations with the acquisition of KCI which takes our engineering design
activities into the Dutch sector.

In Production Facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, we are further developing our
support to provide longer term managed services both on the shelf and in
deepwater.  In West Africa, we have commenced a new contract supporting
Marathon's facilities onshore and offshore in Equatorial Guinea, and, in
Colombia, our new early production systems for BP's Recetor and Florena fields
are now in operation.



Well Support

Well Support is beginning to enjoy some benefit from the higher onshore rig
count in North America, although offshore activity remains flat.  In line with
our internationalisation strategy, our activities outside North America, with
the exception of Venezuela, are growing well.  Overall revenues increased 6% to
$191.0 million (2002: $180.4 million) and EBITA increased 29% to $13.4 million
(2002: $10.4 million) with EBITA margins improving to 7.0% from 5.8%.

Wood Group ESP continued to make good progress internationally, extending its
operations in Ecuador, China and Russia.  In addition, we have secured a $50m, 5
year, contract with Repsol in Argentina.  In May, Joe Brady, who has a long and
very successful track record in the electric submersible pump industry, took
over as Executive Chairman of Wood Group ESP.

Wood Group Pressure Control has good growth potential in Canada following the
acquisition of Barber Industries, an established manufacturer and supplier of
wellhead equipment to the Canadian and international oil and gas industries.  In
the U.S., where we are the second largest provider of surface valves and
wellheads, activity levels increased and, in the international arena, we have
continued to win market share including a $10 million contract to provide
wellheads and valves to Saudi Aramco.

Our slickline operations in the Gulf of Mexico, with their production focus,
continued to show steady growth.  Our electric line operations performed well in
Argentina, but low activity levels in the Gulf of Mexico continued to depress
margins.  Our Permanent Monitoring business continued its growth, in part due to
the superior reliability performance of its ROC gauge.



Gas Turbine Services

Gas Turbine Services' operations are approximately equally divided between the
oil & gas and power sectors.  While our activities in the oil & gas sector are
well established, and we have a significant market share, the power market is
substantially larger, our market share much smaller, and this provides a
significant growth opportunity.

Gas Turbine Services revenues increased 36% to $216.2 million (2002: $158.4
million), as a result of market share growth and recent acquisitions.  EBITA
increased 4% to $21.9 million (2002: $21.1 million) reflecting a reduction in
EBITA margins to 10.1% (2002: 13.3%).  This margin reduction is due to increased
field service activity, costs associated with the organic development of
controls and operations and maintenance (O&M) capabilities, and the impact of a
tougher pricing environment in the North American power market.

We remain confident in the long term prospects for the power sector, both in
North America and internationally.  Accordingly, we have continued to invest in
this area over the last twelve months, both through acquisitions and organic
developments, to broaden our service offering.  We recently received an award
from Frost & Sullivan for our 'Exceptional growth strategy' in recognition of
our 'clear roadmap to emerge as the leading independent power plant services
company, serving both North American and global markets'.

Significant progress in the power area included the award of our first long-term
service agreement for Frame 7EA engines, covering the gas turbines, generators,
controls, field service and full maintenance responsibility for GWF Energy,
together with a $50 million contract with a leading power utility to maintain a
fleet of more than 30 turbines of differing make over a eight year period.  In
addition, we are continuing to grow our controls and operations and maintenance
capabilities and have recently entered into an alliance with Miller McConville
to develop power plant service opportunities.

In aero-derivative engines, Rolls Wood Group is rebuilding its Aberdeen
component repair facility following last year's fire and full capability should
be restored by the end of the year, and TransCanada Turbines has a strong order
book for the second half of the year, particularly in the GE LM series product
line.  Our Light Industrial Turbines business continues to extend its range of
services, with the addition of some important new contracts.



Outlook

We expect Engineering and Production Facilities to perform well in the current
year, but the delay in some of the larger deepwater projects could have some
impact on 2004.  Well Support should benefit from its increasing participation
outside North America and a continued recovery in North American gas drilling.
As indicated in our July trading update, Gas Turbine Services is likely to
achieve only modest profit growth in 2003 with our growth in the oil & gas and
in power markets outside North America offsetting the continuing weakness in
North American power.  Medium term prospects in this division remain strong.

In Venezuela, the political and economic tensions and the introduction of
exchange control regulations continue to create some uncertainty, but the
fundamentals remain strong for the medium term.  The additional resources we are
allocating to developing markets in Mexico, Russia, North and West Africa and
Asia Pacific should produce new opportunities over the next 18 months.

Looking further ahead, we intend to continue to build our global presence,
enhance the differentiation of our products & services and extend our market
leadership.  We are confident that our strong management team will continue to
grow our business and increase shareholder value.


Sir Ian Wood
Chairman and Chief Executive

Allister G Langlands
Deputy Chief Executive



Interim Financial Review

'Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation increased by 18% to $73.0
million.'

Revenues increased by $134.3 million, or 17%, to $947.0 million for the six
months to June 2003 (2002: $812.7 million) reflecting strong growth in all three
divisions. Earnings before Interest, Tax and Amortisation ('EBITA*1') increased
$11.3 million or 18% to $73.0 million (2002: $61.7 million) with increases in
EBITA margins in Engineering & Production Facilities and Well Support.  Gas
Turbine Services saw strong revenue growth, however only modest EBITA growth in
the period, leading to lower EBITA margins.

Cash inflows from operating activities amounted to $38.6 million in the six
months to June 2003 (2002: $39.2 million). Net debt increased by $49.9 million
from $177.2 million at December 2002 to $227.1 million at June 2003. Capital
expenditure amounted to $48.7 million including the final investment in Colombia
in the Recetor and Florena projects.  The cost of acquisition of subsidiaries,
including debt acquired, totalled $16.5 million and includes the acquisitions of
Barber Industries in Canada and KCI in Holland.  The Group's gearing ratio*2
increased from 35% at December 2002 to 42% at June 2003.

Net debt of $227.1m is primarily US dollar denominated.  Long-term borrowings
amounted to $279.6 million at 30 June 2003, of which $125.0 million, or 45%, was
at a weighted average fixed rate of interest of 5.0%.  Net interest costs were
$9.4 million which is an increase of $1.5 million compared to the same period in
2002.  This was mainly due to the higher interest costs in South America where
local borrowings are used to hedge currency exposures. Interest cover*3 was 10.1
times (June 2002: 10.6 times).

The effective tax rate for the period, based on pre-tax profit before
amortisation, is 34% which is 1% lower than the effective tax rate in 2002
primarily due to the expected utilisation of tax losses and additional elements
of amortisation being tax deductible.

Profit for the six month period increased by $5.4 million or 19% to $33.7
million. Diluted earnings per share pre-amortisation increased by 8% to 8.4
cents compared to 7.8 cents for the same period in 2002 with the 19% increase in
profits being offset by the dilutive impact of shares issued at the IPO.  The
interim dividend is 1.1 cents per share and will be paid on 16 October 2003.




*1 EBITA represents operating profit before amortisation and share of
associates. This financial term is provided as it is the key unit of measurement
used by the company in the management of its business (see note 2 of the interim
accounts).

*2 Gearing represents net debt over shareholders funds

*3 Interest cover is EBITA divided by net interest payable, excluding share of
associates.


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