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The company said it was confident of double-digit underlying revenue growth in 2012. The order book grew over the year, currently standing at £3.7 billion (31 March 2011 - £3.1 billion). Management confirmed that acquisitions made in 2011 were integrating well and the pipeline of further acquisition opportunities remained strong. At its full year results in February, accompanying management comments noted that "AMEC remains focused on its Vision 2015 strategy and now expects to achieve earnings per share of greater than 100 pence ahead of 201

The group remains exposed to the health of the global economy. A drop in energy prices could see customers cancelling investment projects. Engineering firms rely heavily on their execution track record to win new business. Association with an industrial accident or faulty execution could impair AMEC's ability to compete for new business. AMEC operates in areas which can be politically sensitive such as nuclear, oil sands, and unconventional oil and gas. While AMEC's broad client base provides diversification, a sharp shift in policy may impact on future profits. Currency movements continue to pose potential headwinds.

AMEC's order book was £3.7 billion in March (December 2011 - £3.7 billion, March 2011- £3.1 billion). The company confirmed that £75 million of shares had been purchased under its £400 million share buyback programme. AMEC said its financial position remained strong with net cash at the end of March 2012 of approximately £468 million (December 2011 - £521 million, March 2011 - £627 million)

Interim statement: AMEC reported a healthy demand for its services and that the group's performance had been in line with its expectations in the first three months of 2012, despite continued macro economic uncertainty. The firm's order book at the end of March stood at £3.7billion, unchanged from the year-end figure but up from £3.1 billion a year earlier. Furthermore, the company said it continued to see a healthy demand for its services and investment in its end markets, underpinned by positive industry trends, particularly in the oil and gas and mining sectors. Ongoing customer investment in AMEC's core markets are driving growth expectations, added management.

The Group's principal activity is providing consultancy, engineering and project management services to the energy, power and process industries. It designs, delivers and maintains strategic and complex assets for its customers. The Group operates through three divisions: Natural Resources, Power & Process and Environment & Infrastructure. The company employs over 25,000 people and operates in more than 30 countries. Group customers include BP, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Paladin Energy, Magnox Ltd, National Grid and Northumbrian Water.

The research and development consultancy, Sagentia, has issued a warning on 2012 revenues after a big project with a north American medical start-up was suspended.

"We are excited to be working for Bowleven again and hope to continue this working relationship in the future."

"The contract...allows us to make further in roads into the lucrative and highly active West African oil and gas arena, a market which we are keen to build our position in," said Plexus Chief Executive Ben van Bilderbeek.

There was also scope to extend the contract for up to two further wells in the same area, it added. Plexus said the potential value of the contract was estimated at £1.05m with revenues form the deal expected to start coming in in June or July this year.

Plexus Holdings (POS), the oil and gas engineering services firm, has secured a contract potentially worth over one million pounds to provide wellhead systems and services to exploration firm Bowleven (BLVN). The firm said the equipment would be used for appraisal activities on two wells, both located in the Bowleven's Etinde Permit area, offshore Cameroon.

"We have commenced tendering for a significant number of projects, including new wellhead and production platforms and associated pipelines, drilling rigs, onshore infrastructure. The group has also received the approval to start tendering for the Gas Treatment Plant," it said.

Commenting on the group's progress CEO Abdul Jaleel Al Khalifa said, "We have maintained a strong level of gross production in the first quarter of this year, supported by solid performance from the Dzheitune (Lam) area and good progress of the drilling programme." The group, which recently became a member of the Bargou joint venture off the coast of Tunisia, said the average realised crude oil price during 1Q 2012 was approximately US$107/bbl, up 13% from the same quarter in 2011.

Caspian Sea-focused oil and gas giant Dragon Oil said it confident of delivering 15 per cent output growth in 2012 and has brought five new wells into production since the start of the year. The group said the average daily production rate during the first quarter was 70,600 barrels a day and is on course to reach its medium-term target of 100,000 in 2015.

Revenue in the first three months of 2012 was in line with management expectations

"The business is benefiting from a stronger operational focus and this is delivering tangible benefits in procurement, operating efficiency and costs," said Pace's Chairman, Allan Leighton. "We remain confident that revenue in 2012 will be broadly flat, prior to the impact of HDD supply issues, and that a c.7% underlying EBITA [earnings before interest, tax and amortisation] margin will be achieved," Leighton said.

Set-top box technology firm Pace said its business is continuing to feel the impact of the hard disk drive supply issues which contributed to a halving of profits in 2011 but otherwise has made an encouraging start to 2012. Pace was badly affected by the flooding in Thailand last year which restricted the supply of hard disk drives (HDDs), costing Pace around $36m, but it also owned up to inventory control issues of its own making, which the management says it is now addressing.

North River Resources said it would soon begin engineering design work at its Namib Lead Zinc Mine in Namibia after pumping 14.3m litres of water out of the site. This achievement would give it access to the lower levels of the mine, it said. As the water receded a number of samples were retrieved from newly exposed mining areas. The results from indicative testing on these had been "outstanding with high recoveries, fast float times and achieving a 56% zinc concentrate", the company said.

Executive Chairman, Justin Drummond and Non-Executive Directors, Haresh Kanabar and Alessandro Malacart have resigned "with immediate effect to pursue other projects" from leisure and entertainment investment firm Brainspark. The company has had a torrid time of late, dropping 62% this year. Commenting on Drummond's departure the group's Chief Executive Alfredo Villa said: "Justin joined the board in February of this year at a very difficult time for the company, but his contribution during his short tenure, particularly his ability to quickly raise money for us, has left Brainspark in a much stronger position."

The share price of medical diagnostics group Omega Diagnostics hit fever pitch after the firm revealed revenue for the year ended March 31st, 2012, is expected to be £11.12m, approximately 41% ahead of last year's result. On a like-for-like basis sales growth is approximately 5%. Another medical firm, Oxford Biomedica, stormed higher after successfully completing a Phase I/II study of its ProSavin drug for treating patients with mid-stage Parkinson's Disease. The patients receiving the highest dosage of the treatment saw their motor function improve by 30%.

The cash-point marketing company i-design said that revenues for the first half of its current financial year will be ahead of the same period of 2011. The group creates advertising solutions for banks and third parties through cash-point screens. A new contract with a Canadian bank has boosted turnover, with the firm now expecting to turn a small profit-before-tax for the full year.