FCA fines Wood Group £13m for misleading financial reports

(Sharecast News) - The UK financial regulator has fined Wood Group £13m for publishing misleading statements in its financial results, claiming the energy and industrial engineering firm overstated three years of profits. The Financial Conduct Authority announced on Wednesday that Wood Group's accounting processes were "inappropriately influenced by its desire to maintain previously stated financial results" despite a string of poor project outcomes.

The regulator said it found Wood Group to have inadequate systems, controls and procedures to prevent this from happening.

"This resulted in Wood Group publishing inaccurate information in its full-year 2022 and 2023 financial results and the half-year 2024 results. The company failed to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements about those results were not false or misleading," the FCA said.

Last March, Wood Group admitted to "cultural failings" after a independent review by Deloitte found cases of "inappropriate management pressure" to maintain previously stated results.

The company, which is currently nearing completion for a takeover by Dubai's Sidara, has seen its share price plummet over the past 18 months, with the stock suspended between May and November 2025 due to a failure to file accounts on time.

"Investors rely on accurate information to make decisions. Wood Group failed to provide this and fell well short of the high standards we expect of listed companies," said Steve Smart, the FCA's executive director of enforcement and market oversight.

The amount of the fine, £12.99m, was 30% lower than it could have been since Wood Group accepted the findings of the FCA's investigation.