Amec Share Discussion Threads

[nellie1973] 08/12/2010 16:24

Tipped in press today as well!!

[nellie1973] 08/12/2010 09:17

Broker upgrade

[nellie1973] 27/8/2010 17:58

Tipped in press-BUY

[gateside] 06/8/2010 08:48

Heading for £10 long term by the looks of it.

[huwrayhenry] 02/8/2010 17:11

could break out from here.....?

[gateside] 13/7/2010 07:39

AMEC awarded five-year Master Services Agreement and $340million project for BP, Azerbaijan

AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, as part of the AMEC Tekfen Azfen (ATA) consortium, announces the award of a five-year Master Services Agreement by BP Azerbaijan.

The five-year agreement for the ATA consortium covers the provision of project management, engineering services, construction management and commissioning and completions for BP's oil and gas projects in Azerbaijan, including the Chirag Oil Project - West Chirag (COP-WC) project valued at $340m and, in the future, the Shah Deniz 2 project.

AMEC has worked for BP in Azerbaijan for 13 years and, as part of the ATA consortium, has successfully completed two major platform topsides as well as providing offshore asset support services in the Caspian.

The first tranche of work under the new agreement is for the project start-up and associated yard preparation works for an 18,000 tonne topsides facility for the Chirag project.

"This latest agreement reinforces our successful long-standing relationship with BP and is in addition to our major projects global agreement," said Neil Bruce, Executive Director, AMEC plc. "We have developed a strong position in the Caspian and surrounding region, where we have a good understanding of local issues. I am proud of our commitment to the region and our ability to apply our global skills to meet local needs."

Tony Cruddas, President of Growth Regions for AMEC added: "The award helps us with our strategy for growth in Azerbaijan and enhances our reputation there. Since setting up our operations centre in Baku in 1998, we have built a business that employs local people and delivered several successful major projects that have helped Azerbaijan's national oil industry to grow."

[wendsworth] 11/4/2010 15:38

Amazing response1 Up she goes to 835/36.

Looks like I've missed the boat for the time being!

[wendsworth] 04/4/2010 14:59

Judging from the post market RNS last Thursday , Directors Bruce and Jinks appear to consider 799p to be a fair price for their shares. Neither now have substantial holdings. Interesting? Wonder what the market will make of it?

[gateside] 30/3/2010 07:19

AMEC acquires leading UK environmental and engineering consultancy Entec Holdings Limited



AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, announces today the acquisition of Entec Holdings Ltd (Entec), the UK-based environmental and engineering consultancy, from its owner-managers and investors, Growth Capital Partners, for an initial consideration of £61.2 million. The acquisition has been made on a cash free/debt free basis and the consideration has been settled in cash. Further payments may be made, subject to retention and performance.



Entec has a leading position in the water services and wastewater sector. It also provides renewable, nuclear and other energy services, industrial engineering, contaminated land and regeneration services, environmental planning and project management services. Entec's customers span government, utility and private sector companies, and the acquisition will strengthen AMEC's relationships with existing customers, as well as provide access to new ones. The company has some 700 professional employees and is headquartered in Newcastle with 14 offices across the United Kingdom.



The acquisition is fully aligned with AMEC's Vision 2015 strategy of assured growth; Entec broadens the Earth & Environmental division's geographic footprint in Europe and it also strengthens its capabilities in the water and energy sectors. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing immediately, and to meet its weighted average cost of capital in the first full year post acquisition.



"Acquiring Entec Holdings Ltd is another important step in our strategy of enhancing our water and environmental consulting capabilities internationally," said Roger Jinks, President of AMEC's Earth & Environmental division.



Elaine Moore, Executive Vice President Europe and United Kingdom, AMEC Earth & Environmental, added: "The addition of Entec's high quality people significantly enhances our position in the water sector around the world. The acquisition also supports AMEC's goal of strengthening the Earth & Environmental division's footprint in Europe."

[wendsworth] 05/3/2010 15:50

PhatProfit: Noted. There's also a Nomura downgrade to a target price of 915p.

Its having a rebound today but reckon we'll see the 750s again before it goes ex-div. I'm more comfortable buying back in at that level.

I see the share trading in the 750 to 825 range for the next couple of months.
Still...we'll see!

[phatprofit] 05/3/2010 08:49

Questor says BUY

The one phrase that spooked the markets in the announcement was that "the trading environment will remain challenging". This caused the shares to fall about 8pc at the open yesterday as the market took the view that the company was talking down this year's prospects.

However, it can hardly be a surprise that markets are challenging and there was actually much to be positive about the statement. The company has an order book of £3.2bn and it expects this to continue to grow. With revenues standing at £2.53bn in 2009, this represents about 15 months of work.

The company also said that it expected this order pipeline to continue to improve as the year progressed, so Amec must be well down the line in discussions for new contracts. However, these new orders are not likely to hit the top line in 2010, with the benefits seen from 2011 onwards. This is likely to be the source of the disappointment and prompted the share price fall.

The company did say that it had seen signs of a pick-up in the market in the first quarter. Significantly, Amec confirmed that it still expected to hit its margin target next year. The group is targeting an earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITDA) margin of 8.5pc next year. In 2009, the group managed to increase this margin measure by an impressive 110 basis points to 8.2pc. It has also set a target of more than doubling earnings per share to at least 100p by 2015.

In the 12-month period to December 31, pre-tax profits came in at £203m compared with £306m in the previous year. The total dividend for the year was 17.7p, a 15pc year-on-year increase. The final payment of 11.6p will be made in May and the shares go ex-dividend for this payment on May 19. The shares are yielding 2.5pc.

When Questor spoke to Ian McHoul, Amec's chief financial officer, yesterday, he was bullish on long-term prospects for the group. He noted that there was lots of activity in the sector in which the group operates, with the opportunity to get in on a number of oil projects at the early exploration stages – something that could lead to significant long-term projects for those where successful discoveries were made.

The group had a net cash position of £743m at the end of the year. This has led to some analysts saying that the balance sheet is inefficient and under-leveraged. Mr McHoul said that the company's main plan for the cash was to make strategic acquisitions at the right price, but he would consider returning it to shareholders via an earnings-enhancing buy-back in 12 months should no suitable purchases present themselves.

He believes that the expectations gap between the price at which business owners are prepared to sell and the price at which potential acquriers are prepared to buy is closing, so an increase in M&A activity across the market is likely.

The shares are trading on a December 2010 earnings multiple of 14.4 times, falling to 12.5 in 2011. However, if the cash is stripped out from the valuation, the group is trading on an ex-cash multiple of about 11 times, which looks cheap.

Questor believes that the long-term business case for Amec is intact and yesterday's falls have presented a buying opportunity. The shares were first recommended at 531½p on January 8 last year and the shares are up 44pc compared with a market up 23pc. Buy.

[wendsworth] 04/3/2010 18:25

Phatprofit : 26th May !

[phatprofit] 04/3/2010 13:16

Bounced of 759 twice now, so we may have hit a double bottom on an intraday perspective. It usually bounces back well after such drops. Statement seems fine to me. When's ex-div ??? tia



P

[wendsworth] 04/3/2010 11:02

Phew!

Not often I get it right but this morning's 54p fall has justified my stance on this occasion.

Should give a buying opportunity before ex-div?

Other views?

[wendsworth] 03/3/2010 13:08

owenski : Really good article. After WG's results ..think I 'll wait until Friday before consideribng buying back in.

[llados] 28/2/2010 16:26

owenski - thanks for the link, very interesting!

[owenski] 28/2/2010 15:37

Worth a read.

Enjoy.

[wendsworth] 19/2/2010 15:38

Very quiet BB. Have sold out and taken taken 50p profit. Figured its had a hell of a run this week and I had pencilled in 800p +. Have learnt the hard way not to be 'too' greedy!

Good luck to all holders.

Will continue to monitor.

[wendsworth] 02/2/2010 12:24

Bluebelle: Bought back in on perceived undervaluation last Thursday and am enjoying the ride...so far! Reckon the 'run-up' to Finals will see well north of 800p.

One thing you can always say about AMEC it isn't a 'dull share'.

[bluebelle] 02/2/2010 11:38

Famous last words but, I've seen nothing in the recent relative price weakness to dent confidence in the longer term story : your just getting the opportunity of buying quality assets at a discount ! Still a core hold for me.

[wendsworth] 02/2/2010 10:52

UP 25p today. Looking really good! WG is up as well.

[wendsworth] 01/2/2010 14:43

See this share trading back north of 800p before Finals.