Wood Group upbeat on full-year prospects Energy services giant Wood Group today said its full-year performance should be in line with expectations as it continues to benefit from buoyant conditions in the oil and gas sector. In a trading update, the Aberdeen-based group said its engineering division was performing well, with a strong order book thanks to high activity in upstream, subsea and pipelines. Downstream activity levels have been affected by "subdued" spending in US refining, the firm said, but it expects to see some improvement during the second half of the year. At its PSN division, which carries out engineering work for oil, gas and utilities clients, losses of between $15 million (£9.3m) and $20m are predicted in Oman, but it has enjoyed a strong performance in the North Sea and North America. The division has been boosted by a recent A$232m (£147m) contract to provide maintenance services for Melbourne Water. Wood said its GTS turbine maintenance division should see good earnings growth following a number of new contracts in the US, and it is confident of winning more deals. The group told investors: "We anticipate strong operating cash flow in the second half, and our strong balance sheet provides a robust platform for growth." Investec analyst Keith Morris said: "Despite engineering's impressive growth, we remain slightly cautious on the outlook for the other divisions into 2013." However, Investec maintained its "hold" rating on Wood Group's shares, which rose 8p, 1 per cent, to 819p in early trading.