North Sea agency Wood Group fined £13m by regulator over inaccurate accounts

Wood Group has been fined nearly £13million by the regulator for publishing ‘inaccurate’ and ‘misleading’ statements.

The Financial Conduct Authority said the North Sea firm had published ‘inaccurate’ information in its full-year 2022 and 2023 financial results as well as its half-year results in 2024.

It said the company ‘failed to take reasonable care to ensure that its announcements about those results were not false or misleading’.

Wood Group’s shares were suspended from the London Stock Exchange last May after it failed to publish its full-year results on time.

It followed an investigation by Deloitte in November 2024, following massive write-offs on large-scale projects, which found that the engineering firm had withheld information from auditors KPMG amid ‘cultural failings’.

The FCA opened an investigation into potential reporting issues at Wood Group last June 

The FCA opened its own investigation into potential reporting issues at the firm last June, looking at the period from early 2023 until November 2024, when Wood Group announced Deloitte would probe its accounts.

Separately, Arvind Baland, who joined as finance chief in 2024, stepped down last February after admitting he had misstated his accountancy qualifications.

Shares have sunk over 70 per cent since then to around 28p and fell a further 1 per cent to 28.65p today.

Steve Smart, FCA’s executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: ‘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.’

The regulator said Wood Group saw a 30 per cent reduction in its potential fine after agreeing with the findings.

Earlier this week, Wood Group declared its £216million takeover by Dubai-based Sidara, announced last summer, was expected to complete next week.