The share price of Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) slipped firmly into reverse after the oil services engineer said that the continuing oil price slump meant it would have to cut its dividend and deliver another $55m (£35.7) in cuts.
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The group's order book fell back slightly in the period from July to October, despite a number of new deals being struck, including a training contract for the UK's nuclear safety authority and one to examine how to manage radioactive waste at the Fukushima complex in Japan.
Clients are also becoming more price-sensitive, so Amec now expects profit margins to be lower than the 7.3 per cent rate it recorded in the first half of the year. This will have a detrimental effect on underlying earnings.