ESG Exposures Create Certain Risks for Investors in Engineering Services Companies Like Worley.

Worley is one of the largest global providers of engineering and professional services to the oil, gas, mining, power, and infrastructure industries, with about 59,000 employees and more than AUD 11.0 billion in annual revenue. Strong relationships with global resource and petrochemical firms, along with solid levels of long-term recurring work, provide some element of switching cost support, a competitive strength. While the traditional engineering, procurement and construction management space is competitive, we believe few firms have the skills and capacity to take on the work available in many of the key areas in which Worley operates. Most contracts are of a cost-plus nature, so the risk from project delays and cost overruns is minimised. The highly skilled, specialist nature of WorleyParsons' work means it can earn higher margins than traditional engineering and construction firms.