Amec Share Discussion Threads

[wendsworth] 16/5/2007 10:21

VERY QUIET BB !

Will today's agm give yet a further boost to the share price?

Whatever....one has to be a holder of this stock . 600P now in sight.

[dextroisomerism] 08/4/2007 15:27

Of the 6 bidders shortlisted for the massive Sellafield project, the consortium which includes AMEC (led by Washington International - an American company very expert in nuclear power and decommissioning, also including AREVA , the privatised french nuclear company) seems to me to be in the best position.

[huntie2] 20/3/2007 18:57

directors buy for one reason only, but reasons for selling can be many and varied. it probably says nothing about the company at all.

[lbo] 17/3/2007 14:36

WHY is a director selling?

Amec Sell 16-Mar-07 £112,530.00 John D Early 22,506 @ 500.00p

[knackers] 16/3/2007 22:37

Wend,
I don't things are as gloomy as some would have you believe, I believe this economic run has at least another 16 months in it (min). I reckon the sub-prime mkt issues in the US are pretty well insulated from the rest of the economy.
Think Flex...

[wendsworth] 15/3/2007 22:14

triguy and madger : Thank you for your thoughtful comments and the Tempus extract.The latter + general market positivity probably caused the early spike in the AMEC' price this am.

Without doubt AMEC is a buy and I shall continue to hold ,topping-up on perceived weakness and boxing in profit when each new threshold is reached.My doubts are focussed on the market in general and the US in particular. Analysts/Commentators/Pundits seem to be looking for negative pointers since the Alan ( I sold my shares yeaterday!) Greenspan economic synopsis.

Providing 'we AMEC groupies'(!) are sensible we will hopefully be in a position to take advantage of any general market volatility . One has to keep a holding however on the grounds of under-valuation, significant potential upside and the fact that AMEC' share price tends to be news driven ...and there is likely to be plenty of that in 2007.

[madger] 15/3/2007 13:56

Citigroup brokers reiterated buy Amec today raising the target to 570p from 540p.
From 'The Times' tempus today:
Amec
Five months into the job and Samir Brikho has already earned a reputation for formidable bravado. The Lebanese-born Swede who now heads the £1.7 billion group prompted jaws to drop in December when he forecast that Amec's margins, stuck at 2.4 per cent, would reach 6 per cent in 2008, and 8 per cent in 2010. Those jaws dropped further yesterday when Mr Brikho used full-year results to raise his targets once more: to 6.8 per cent and 9.8 per cent at the top end respectively. The City has warmed to such barnstorming style. The shares, up 39 per cent under his brief tenure, nudged higher again yesterday, one of only eight FTSE 250 stocks to advance. Not all that strength is Brikho-inspired. Some of the restructuring he has overseen, such as the sale of rail maintenance, was put in train by his predecessor. Amec's undervaluation has also been neatly flagged by its receipt and rejection of two bid approaches.
But there are other causes of cheer. After 16 months in which the taking of provisions against Amec's construction division has prompted three profit warnings, yesterday's numbers were notable for their lack of write-offs. Indeed, it emerged that £90 million of the £250 provisions booked so far have not been spent, leaving scope for future write-backs. The disposal of noncore assets is proceeding apace: Mr Brikho said Amec has received more than 40 expressions of interest, giving confidence that the process will complete this year. And apart from reaffirming £40 million of annual cost savings, Amec predicts that net cash should rise from £190 million to £250 million this year. Further upside should come from Amec's focus on energy markets: a move that will speed profit growth. With the shares sitting at 16.3 times 2008 earnings, that rerating has further to run. Keep buying.

[triguy] 15/3/2007 12:13

Agreed Wendsworth, I have done the same, locked in some profit and will buy in on any weakness (well wealth permitting!).
Upside is good, downside is that they are in a very competitive market but they do have a quite diverse portfolio and good working relationships with key clients.
I do think as I mentioned in previous posts that 600p is the 2007 aim for this share and that there will some shareholder return at some point, if not this year then definitely next.
Anyway, happy holding.

[wendsworth] 15/3/2007 11:09

evo8 and broadwood : I have to be careful because I'm beginning to 'love' this share. I have therefore boxed in some more profit this morning .Once it hit the 520s I was unable to resist and felt it sensible to take some more profit primarily because I do not like the US scenario . It was only Monday last week that AMEC was dragged down , not on fundamentals but purely by market makers, to the 430p level.

My logic is that there will be more volatility in the market before AMEC goes
ex-dividend which will enable me to top up my holding again. I have no doubt that providing the expressions of interest yield good sale prices on disposals that 2007 will eventually see AMEC hit the 600p mark.

The important point for all of us to remember is that no share goes up (or down!) in straight lines. However once you've spotted a share with recovery potential(AMEC fits the bill)the secret is to buy on weakness in the market.

[fredd] 15/3/2007 08:54

Indeed, it's looking strong today.

[broadwood] 15/3/2007 08:22

Looks as though it could be heading into the blue sky at last.

[broadwood] 14/3/2007 21:38

Yep - remarkable that on today of all days they actually finish up.

Lets hope it augurs well for tomorrow.

[evo8] 14/3/2007 21:18

Well done Wendsworth. I was tempted but held on.

Seymour Pierce noted that the 2006 results from AMEC were poor though a touch better than expected, but are largely irrelevant following the arrival of the new CEO and his determination to drive the core businesses harder.

[wendsworth] 14/3/2007 17:35

broadwood , badger and evo8: Having had a preliminary scan of the 'headline aspects ' of the results I sold some right at the off this morning to box in some more profit.My primary driver in selling some of my holding (which was the sole element on contract ) was the 200 point fall on the dow plus overnight falls in Tokyo and HK.

The recovery in the share price after the CEO' comments , bearing in mind the bloodbath elsewhere, has been quite remarkable and clearly demonstrates support in the city for the company.

Coincidentally ...my other medium termer is Sainsburys and amazingly SBRY obliged as well . Not often my crystal ball is so effective.

Just sit and collect the dividend on AMEC and watch the price steadily climb up towards the 540p level is the advice I'm giving myself . Bon chance mes amis.

[evo8] 14/3/2007 17:05

Keep the faith. Regained all its losses from this morning and look where it would have gone if the US loansharks hadn't screwed everything up.

[madger] 14/3/2007 14:04

Broadwood - agree with you regarding always sliding after results, differance now i feel is that the board seem more open during the year regarding liabilities and such. The picture clouded today by market falls and the obvious profit taking but the slow recovery over the day of the share price shows good support in these jittery times. What with the announced share buy back recommencing, the interest in the built environment business sell off and core industrial, natural resources and nuclear businesses performing well all points to good profits being made holding onto Amec shares.
Deutsche reiterated buy Amec today.

[broadwood] 14/3/2007 09:04

wend - not a good day to announce the results was it?

Although the shares have been marked down, nothing material seems to have changed since the trading update and news on future margins is good.

But have to admit, in all the time I've held the shares they've never once been marked up after the results. They have been a serial disappointer in that respect.

[wendsworth] 13/3/2007 23:39

broadwood : You've aptly demonstrated that patience is a virtue. I'm convinced that your patience in AMEC will be amply rewarded in the next six months or so.

We've all invested in 'dogs' at various times (LLoydsTSB is one of mine !!!) ...fortunately for me I've been following AMEC up from the 363p level.

I agree with your assessment as to the finals . If the restructuring is going according to plan we could well see a hike in the dividend or even a special dividend? A corporate activity announcement is a long shot in my view.In any event I'm content with a positive recovery aimed at fulfilling AMEC' great potential matched by a steady upwards movement in the share price.

[broadwood] 13/3/2007 15:50

Taken five years to get my money back on this one.

Tomorrow is all about how the restucturing is going, I reckon.

[triguy] 13/3/2007 12:45

Can anyone remember the proposed return of capital to shareholders details (when, how much etc).
Other than that things are looking good with a few good shots at big Natural resource contracts coming up, a nice nuclear package in the offing and a few other oil sands contracts up for bidding. I still think 600p by year end or take out at about that price is on.

[wendsworth] 13/3/2007 12:44

Enami: Yes - as previously forecast it's hit the 500p prior to results.

Where will it go next? The results should give holders some clues.

[enami] 13/3/2007 12:36

Results tomorrow, cracked the 500 mark.

[wendsworth] 12/3/2007 12:24

YOU BEAUTY! Back in the 490s again.What a GREAT share AMEC is to trade.

I hope you fellow BB 'commentators' are also making handsome profits on this share.

[wendsworth] 06/3/2007 12:00

evo8: The 'greener' Western Governments aim to become the greater the potential value of AMEC.

This is a great share to top-up and trade because it's underlying value eventually supports a 'price- hike'.

The 'Forward Look' on Results ( due next week) could be VERY interesting to holders.