The share price of engineering and oil services consultancy Amec (AMEC) has traded within a relatively narrow band over the past three years. On the one hand, this points to the group's stability, but it's also clear it remains intent on expanding through big-ticket acquisitions where appropriate - even after last year's rejection by sector rival Kentz (KENZ).
Ahead of the upcoming interim report, Amec's shareholders will have noted that the European Commission has rubber-stamped the group's £2bn acquisition of Swiss rival Foster Wheeler AG. Amec said that synergies could result in annual cost savings of $75m (£44m), but the Commission found that it would not harm competition.
Shareholders will also be interested to see if the momentum established by the group in the US clean energy markets has been maintained. The level of business activity in the North Sea will also guide investor sentiment, particularly in light of renewed government focus on the region. More detail on the four-year contract recently awarded to Amec to help in the decommissioning of the Dounreay former nuclear research facility on the Caithness coast is also expected.
