Oil and engineering services Amec is preparing for an acquisition spree worth up to £1.5bn this year, even as it warned of a financially challenging year ahead.
Amec chief executive Samir Brikho said Amec is targeting companies in the mining, nuclear and oil and gas industries, specifically in subsea oil exploration.
Brikho said that Amec had £743m of cash and could comfortably raise about £1.5bn, writes the UK's The Times newspaper, however, the company's underlying revenues for 2009 were down 12% at £2.54bn amid weak markets. The company posted low revenues across its three business units including its main oil and gas division.
Birkho also warned of a challenging year ahead with the increasing pricing pressure from customers, but assured that it is on track to achieve its margin-boosting targets.
"We believe the trading environment will remain challenging, but expect that our order pipeline will continue to improve as the year progresses," he said.
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