Date and Location
The most recent Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) of John Wood Group PLC was held at Sir Ian Wood House, Hareness Road, Aberdeen, AB12 3LE, Scotland, on Thursday, 13 May 2021 at 2.30pm.
In order to comply with UK and Scottish Government guidance and restrictions aimed at controlling the spread of Covid-19 and to protect the health and safety of our employees and shareholders, the AGM was held with the minimum attendance required, the quorum being achieved through the attendance of employee shareholders.
Shareholders could submit questions in advance of the AGM via our website and were able to listen to the AGM and to ask questions via a live simultaneous audiocast.
The following questions were submitted in advance of the meeting via our website or during the AGM via the live audiocast:
- What does the Board see as the Company’s competitive advantage against its peers?
We are differentiated by our strong track record of delivery which enables us to build enduring customer relationships. This in turn generates strong repeat business, giving us our leading market positions. We have been agile to position our ourselves ahead of emerging market trends and have strategically positioned to broaden our consulting, projects and operations capabilities across diverse energy and built environment markets.
We are one of only a small number of organisations of our size and scale delivering the solutions that we do, with leading positions across these broad end markets. We have a clear purpose to unlock solutions to the world’s most critical challenges and we believe we are uniquely positioned to deliver solutions for the energy transition and the drive for sustainable infrastructure.
- When do we expect payment of dividends will re-commence and will the payment per share be at the same level as previously?
The Board recognises the importance of dividends to shareholders but also the need to ensure we have a strong balance sheet foundation. Given the unprecedented levels of uncertainty and measures being taken to protect cashflows and preserve long term value, the Board considered it prudent not to pay a dividend for 2020. The decision to resume dividend payments, and the level pf payment, will be dependent on the assessment of the longer-term impacts of Covid and greater stability in our end markets.
- You talk about providing solutions for the energy transition, how is Wood contributing to “net zero”?
We are contributing to net zero in two main ways.
Firstly, there is the work we are doing to manage our own environmental impact. During 2020 we committed to a range of sustainability targets designed to ensure our accountability for our impact on the environment and the communities we operate in. Included within this is a target for a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030 on our journey to net-zero. We are already making progress towards this having achieved a reduction of 8% compared to 2019. Secondly, there is the work we are doing to deliver the energy transition and helping our clients to achieve their own net-zero ambitions. We are engineering the solutions for a net-zero future including decarbonisation of conventional energy, renewables and low carbon fuel systems.
Our energy transition solutions are wide-ranging, from evaluating the use of carbon capture and storage and hydrogen to decarbonise industrial clusters, to studies for the supply of hydrogen to homes, to the installation of onshore solar and wind farms. We are also working with our International Oil Company clients as they transition to International Energy Companies, helping them to decarbonise their existing assets to deliver conventional energy as cleanly and efficiently as possible.
The next Annual General Meeting of John Wood Group PLC will be held on a date and at a venue to be confirmed in Spring 2022.