Amec Foster unnerves investors as it postpones capital markets day

(Adds details, share price move)

Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 27 (Reuters) - Oilfield services firm Amec Foster Wheeler postponed its capital markets day until next year and forecast a further decline in oil and gas revenue in 2017, sending its shares tumbling 20 percent on Thursday.

The company said it needed more time to complete a strategic review, which had confirmed a number of challenges, and that it was in talks to sell more assets.

Oilfield services companies have been pummelled as weak crude prices force oil producers to cut spending, putting pressure on their balance sheets and pushing them to shed assets and cut dividends.

Amec has responded by taking aggressive measures to slash debt, including cutting its dividend and promising to deliver 500 million pounds ($612 million) from asset sales by June 2017. It hired a former Halliburtorn executive as CEO in April this year to help drive its programme forward.

The London-based provider of engineering and construction services to oilfields said that ordinary dividends in 2016 will be about half that declared in 2014 when it paid out 43.3 pence per share.

"Looking ahead to 2017, we continue to expect another year of Oil & Gas decline and for solar activity to reduce significantly from the record levels seen this year," Amec said in a statement.

It postponed its capital markets day until March 21, 2017, from Nov. 15 this year.

"To offset the current market challenges, we need to do more to establish the full potential of ... growth opportunities and the optimal configuration of our portfolio," Chief Executive Jon Lewis said in a statement.

The company said it had reached agreement to dispose three assets and expected combined proceeds of 100 million pounds.

In March, it announced plans to sell its Global Power Group, unit involved in the design, supply and erection of circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boilers, a wide range of steam generators and air pollution control equipment unit.

"We are now in talks to sell the core boiler business and the rest of GPG to separate buyers. We believe this is our best option to achieve an acceptable level of proceeds," the company said on Thursday.

Amec's shares were down 20 percent at 466 pence at 0835 GMT, the biggest loser on the FTSE mid-cap index.

Amec said cost-cutting measures taken to date included identifying around 650 surplus roles, closing offices and accelerating plans to outsource back office functions to low-cost locations. ($1 = 0.8185 pounds) ($1 = 0.8176 pounds) (Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri and Susan Fenton)