LONDON (Alliance News) - Oil and gas engineering services company Amec Foster Wheeler PLC on Thursday warned on its outlook for the remainder of the year and into 2016 as it said margin deterioration will hit its second-half results and said it will slash its dividend in half in order to cope with the tough conditions.
The FTSE 250-listed company said its underlying revenue for the full year has been in line with expectations in the first nine months of 2015, but said that due to the ongoing weakness in oil and gas markets, its second half margins will be weaker than the first due to continued pricing pressures and an adverse revenue mix.
Amec Foster Wheeler has increased its cost savings targets out to 2017 to USD180.0 million, a USD55.0 million increase, in order to cope with the tough market conditions and said it will renew its operational focus on improving its performance or exiting low-growth areas.
In another step to try and shore up its finance position, the group also said it will cut its dividend payout for 2015 by 50%.
For the nine months to the end of September, Amec Foster Wheeler said its revenue was GBP3.87 billion, down from GBP3.94 billion a year earlier and down 3.4% on a like-for-like basis. Its order book at the end of September was GBP6.5 billion, down from GBP6.6 billion at the end of the first half.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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